ASCI / Emerging-Generation Awards, 2023

Andres Chang, MD, PhD is originally from Guatemala and developed his interest in becoming a physician-scientist after he was introduced to biomedical research as an undergraduate student. To accomplish this goal, Dr. Chang enrolled in the MD/PhD program at the University of Kentucky, where he performed his graduate studies under the mentorship of Dr. Rebecca Dutch looking at aspects of viral-cell attachment and membrane fusion. Through his clinical training, Dr. Chang became ever more interested in studying the immune system of patients with lymphoid malignancies as he finds the complexities introduced by the presence of a lymphoid cancer and the treatments against these cancers on an already complex physiological system extremely fascinating. Thus, Dr. Chang's goal is to be a physician-scientist with an independently-funded laboratory studying immune responses in patients with lymphomas. This led him to pursue further training in Hematology and Medical Oncology and in Human Immunology at Emory University, where he is being mentored by experts in immunology and lymphoma, Drs. Rafi Ahmed and Jonathon Cohen, respectively. Dr. Chang has been working with his mentors to gain the skills and knowledge in human immunology that will be necessary to conduct his own independent research. Dr. Chang's research has thus far allowed him to characterize the antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in patients with lymphoma and other cancers. He has also characterized the herpes-specific immune response in a CLL patient with herpes simplex lymphadenitis. Dr. Chang anticipates that the knowledge generated through his research could be applied to develop strategies to strengthen the immune responses in these patients, decreasing the morbidity and mortality due to infections and also improving cancer immunotherapies.