University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center researcher Eric Rellinger, MD, was selected to receive the American College of Surgeons’ 2026-2031 George H. A. Clowes Jr., MD, FACS, Memorial Research Career Development Award. This competitive and prestigious five-year funding award supports the research of a promising young surgical investigator.
Dr. Rellinger, an assistant professor in the UK College of Medicine Department of Surgery, and a pediatric surgeon and researcher at Golisano Children’s at UK, is investigating new strategies for treating neuroblastomas. Neuroblastomas most commonly occur in infants and toddlers and account for 15% of all childhood cancer deaths.
The award will support Dr. Rellinger’s research project, titled “Rewiring Glycosylation to Overcome Immunotherapy Resistance in High-Risk Neuroblastoma,” which focuses on how blocking a specific sugar modification on cancer cells can help the immune system better respond to immunotherapy among children with aggressive tumors.
The winner of the Clowes Award is selected by the Scholarship Committee of the American College of Surgeons each year and is given to a surgeon in the early stages of their career who shows promising development as a surgeon-scientist. It is a five-year award that provides $45,000 each year to enhance the ability to conduct quality research.
Kentucky Children's Hospital is now Golisano Children’s at UK. Read about this change and the historic $50 million gift that will transform health care for Kentucky’s kids.