Jeremy Kratz, MD, fellow, Hematology, Medical Oncology and Palliative Care, pictured here, is one of nine subspecialty fellows in the U.S. to receive a grant in the inaugural year of the Doris Duke Physician Scientist Fellowship, a program of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF).

The grant will support Dr. Kratz' research project, "Clonal Selection to Targeted Therapeutics in Colorectal Cancer Spheroids for Clinical Prediction."

Recipients of the Physician Scientist Fellowship were chosen through a competitive, peer-review process by an external panel of physician scientists. While fellows training in fields such as cardiology, hematology, infectious diseases and oncology typically receive funding from their departments for short-term research, there are few opportunities to obtain external support for extended research during this phase.

DDCF designed the Physician Scientist Fellowship to address this gap in support. Each selected fellow is receiving two years of funding at $110,000 per year, a total of $220,000 for the entire grant term, and will work under the supervision of a mentor who will guide them toward successful biomedical research careers. 

Dr. Kratz' research is also supported through the Department of Medicine's Biology of Aging & Age-Related Diseases T32 Institutional Training Grant. His primary mentor is Dustin Deming, MD, associate professor, Hematology, Medical Oncology and Palliative Care. 

Dr. Kratz earned his medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School, and completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Wisconsin Department of Medicine's Physician-Scientist Training Program (PSTP). This program provides internal medicine residents who desire a career in basic science or clinical research the skills to become independent investigators in the field of their choice.

About the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation

The mission of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation is to improve the quality of people’s lives through grants supporting the performing arts, environmental conservation, child well-being and medical research, and through preservation of the cultural and environmental legacy of Doris Duke’s properties. The foundation’s Medical Research Program supports clinical research that advances the translation of biomedical discoveries into new preventions, diagnoses and treatments for human diseases. To learn more about the program, visit www.ddcf.org.

Updated September 21, 2021.