Having good mentors is something that this year’s George and Sarah Jane Fisher Young Investigator Award recipient, Shahid Ahmed, MD, values greatly. Through his personal drive and strong mentors, Dr. Ahmed pursued learning opportunities and research that led him to Indiana University School of Medicine, where he is currently exploring novel oncology research as a third-year hematology/oncology fellow.

The George and Sarah Jane Fisher Young Investigator Award honors IU oncology fellows and faculty members who have made significant contributions to clinical or basic science research, by providing support for research conducted in cooperation with Hoosier Cancer Research Network. The award was established in 2011 through the generous support of William B. Fisher, MD, and the George and Sarah Jane Fisher Fund to stimulate the next generation of cancer researchers.

Coming from Islamabad, Pakistan, Dr. Ahmed was encouraged by his father, a chemistry professor and his first mentor, Dr. Nehal Masood, to pursue a degree in medicine. While attending the Medical College at The Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan, he learned about clinical research opportunities in the United States from one of the faculty members there.

“I’ve been lucky to have people help me along the way,” says Dr. Ahmed. “I rotated in some clinics with Dr. Masood,” he says. “He was just an amazing guy who had done his fellowship in the U.S. I was really impressed by how he was dealing with his patients, and it sounded like he was very happy and had a rewarding career, and so I wanted to have that.”

Dr. Ahmed’s interest in oncology began when his late cousin fought acute leukemia. He saw how much his cousin suffered and thought nobody should have to go through that, and he wanted to help people like him.

“From that point onward, once you identify your passion, you start working toward it and like it even more,” he says.

Since Dr. Ahmed arrived in the United States, he has immersed himself in oncology research. One of the studies he is developing at Indiana University is a randomized study to test whether a diet that mimics fasting decreases the toxicity of chemotherapy while increasing efficacy in lung adenocarcinoma patients. Animal models related to the diet and chemotherapy look promising, and Dr. Ahmed wants to test whether diet and chemotherapy works well in humans.

During the study, Dr. Ahmed will investigate the effects of diet on normal cells and cancer cells and will look at tumor tissue and circulating tumor cells in the blood. Shadia Jalal, MD, an associate professor and 2013 recipient of the Fisher award is his mentor for this project.

“The aim of this study is to find out the biological effects of fasting on cells,” Dr. Ahmed says. “Once we know those things, then that will form the basis for larger clinical trials.”

Dr. Ahmed is also collaborating on immunotherapy research with one of his mentors, Patrick J. Loehrer, Sr., MD, FASCO, director of the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center and associate dean for cancer research at IU School of Medicine. This research is increasingly important as more people take immunotherapy drugs and experience side effects.

“In the past five to ten years, there has been more and more immunotherapy being used in solid oncology, and it’s only going to increase,” Dr. Ahmed says. “It’s important while we put more patients on studies with combination drugs that we also address exposing these patients to side effects and develop strategies to mitigate those side effects.”

Some of the research Dr. Ahmed will explore will be in cooperation with Hoosier Cancer Research Network through his collaboration with Dr. Loehrer, one of the founding members of HCRN.

“Dr. Loehrer has been instrumental in mentoring me,” Dr. Ahmed says. “He brainstorms with me to think about other research projects we could potentially do. As a fellow doing these studies for the first time, his support has gone a long way in helping me.”

“Shahid is a special physician,” Dr. Loehrer said. “He is the complete package of compassionate care, strong intellect, and an insatiable curiosity. He is driven by a profound desire to make a difference in each patient he sees and in each disease he studies. He is a future superstar.”

Dr. Ahmed says he is grateful to be a part of a fellowship program and a research network where young investigators can contribute in many ways.

HCRN has supported Dr. Ahmed in the development of a potential clinical trial.

“They’ve helped me with the protocol, with the informed consent, looking through everything, coordinating with the drug companies,” Dr. Ahmed says. “They have been a massive help, and they are also going to help us establish the other sites.

He says he is very appreciative of collaborations to support clinical research, especially for young investigators, and is thankful for recognition programs such as the George and Sarah Jane Fisher Young Investigator Award.

“I want to thank Dr. Fisher and the Hoosier Cancer Research Network for having this award available for trainees,” Dr. Ahmed says. “I am really excited and honored to have been awarded and I can’t thank you enough.”

He says the monetary award helps young scientists in their career development and funds important research that helps patients.

“You can use this money to do smaller studies, and then those smaller studies form the basis for larger studies,” Dr. Ahmed says. “The Hoosier Cancer Research Network and the Fisher Award have been instrumental in supporting young investigators. In addition, Dr. Patrick Loehrer, Dr. Lawrence Einhorn and Dr. Nasser Hanna have helped mentor me along the way,” Dr. Ahmed adds.

“At the end of the day, you hope to ease suffering and improve the lives of people. As a cancer researcher there has never been a better time to be a fellow, a learner and a trainee in this exciting field.”

Story by Angie Antonopoulos

About Hoosier Cancer Research Network:

Hoosier Cancer Research Network (formerly known as Hoosier Oncology Group) conducts innovative cancer research in collaboration with academic and community physicians and scientists across the United States. The organization provides comprehensive clinical trial management and support, from conception through publication. Created in 1984 as a program of the Walther Cancer Institute, Hoosier Cancer Research Network became an independent nonprofit clinical research organization in 2007. Since its founding, Hoosier Cancer Research Network has conducted more than 210 trials in a variety of cancer types and supportive care, resulting in more than 350 publications. More than 8,500 subjects have participated in Hoosier Cancer Research Network clinical trials.