ASCI / Young Physician-Scientist Awards, 2023
The Young Physician-Scientist Awards (YPSA) recognize physician-scientists who are early in their first faculty appointment and have made notable achievements in their research.
About the awardee
As a physician-scientist, Abby Margaret Green, MD seeks to bridge scientific discovery with translational potential. She is a pediatrician with subspecialty training in both oncology and infectious diseases. Her clinical practice is at the intersection of these fields; she directs the Immunocompromised Infectious Diseases program at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. In the lab, her research program aims to identify sources of mutagenesis in cancer genomes. The APOBEC3 enzymes are cytidine deaminases that provide anti-viral immunity through mutation of viral genomes. However, these DNA mutators encoded by the human genome come with a price: off-target activity causes mutations and damage that threaten host genome integrity. Dr. Green's lab studies how APOBEC3 enzymes become dysregulated, their molecular interactions with human genomes, and the potential for APOBEC3-mediated mutations to promote cancer development or evolution. Her lab is well supported by institutional, foundation, and federal funding.
As a post-doctoral trainee in Dr. Matthew Weitzman’s lab, Dr. Green benefitted from his generous mentorship. As an independent investigator, her goal is to pay mentorship forward. She is active in the graduate program at Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM). She serves on admissions committees, teaches in the primary curriculum, serves on qualifying exam and thesis committees, and frequently hosts rotation students. Additionally, Dr. Green is thesis advisor to two pre-doctoral students in her lab. Aiding in scientific and career development is an incredibly satisfying component of the faculty role.
In addition, Dr. Green is an active member of several scientific communities that provide important collaborations and camaraderie. She is a member of the Siteman Cancer Center and is on Leadership Council for the Center for Genome Integrity at WUSM. Dr. Green was recently awarded membership in the Society for Pediatric Research and is active in the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. Connecting with these communities has enhanced her scientific and clinical pursuits.