ASCI / Emerging-Generation Awards, 2023
The Emerging Generation Awards (E-Gen Awards) recognize post-MD, pre-faculty appointment physician-scientists who are meaningfully engaged in immersive research.
About the awardee
Jessica W. Tsai, MD, PhD is an Instructor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School (HMS), attending physician in Pediatric Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) and Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH), and a post-doctoral fellow in the Bandopadhayay Laboratory in the Department of Pediatric Oncology at DFCI. Dr. Tsai completed her undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences with Honors in Neurobiology at Stanford University in 2008. She subsequently earned her MD/PhD in the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Tsai's PhD training was in the Clandinin Laboratory in the Department of Neurobiology where she studied synapse maintenance and degeneration utilizing the Drosophila visual system. Dr. Tsai subsequently completed her clinical training in Pediatrics at the Boston Combined Residency Program in 2018, caring for children at both BCH and Boston Medical Center. She completed her Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, and Stem Cell Transplantation fellowship at the DFCI in 2021. Dr. Tsai's postdoctoral research focuses on delineating mechanisms underlying oncogenesis in pediatric brain tumors. In addition to her research, she attends on the inpatient Neuro-Oncology service and cares for patients in the outpatient Jimmy Fund Clinic. As a female, 2nd generation Asian American physician-scientist, Dr. Tsai firmly holds it is her obligation and duty to support a better scientific pipeline for future generations through advocacy, innovation, and strong mentorship.