Abigail Fielder

Abigail Fielder
Senior Student 

Dissertation Mentor: Kristen Purrington, MPH, Ph.D.

Research Focus:
Examining Molecular Heterogeneity and Endocrine Sensitivity in Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer

Grants, Awards, Scholarships:

Fellowships

2023-2026 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gilliam Fellowship
2021-2023 Wayne State University Dean’s Diversity Fellowship
2021 Cancer Biology Director's Award, Wayne State University School of Medicine

Awards

2025 Selected for Research Highlights, Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program, National Cancer Institute
2025 AACR Minority Scholar Award in Cancer Research: AACR Annual Meeting - Chicago, IL 
2024 Black in Cancer Travel Award: Black in Cancer Conference - Bethesda, MD (June 2024)
2024 AACR Minority Scholar Award in Cancer Research: AACR Annual Meeting -San Diego, CA
2023 Karmanos Cancer Institute (KCI) Population Studies and Disparities Research Retreat: Poster Presentation   Award, 1st Place
2023 AACR Minority Scholar Award in Cancer Research:16th AACR Disparities Conference-Orlando, FL

Committees:

2026-2029 American Association for Cancer Research Associate Members Council Member          
2023-2024 Cancer Biology Student Representative
2023 - Present    Cancer Biology Curriculum Committee Member
2023 - Present    Cancer Biology Recruitment Committee Member

Mentoring and Teaching Experience:

2025 HHMI Summer Undergraduate Research Program Panelist, “All About Graduate School”
2024-Present  Mentor, AACR Special Program for High School Students
2023-Present STEMinista Statewide Cohort Mentor (Michigan Science Center)
2023-Present Fundamentals of Cancer Biology Review Classes, CB7210
2022,2023 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Seminar Series Lecturer
2022-Present Graduate Mentor- WSU Success for Undergraduate Students in Graduate Education (SURGE)
2022 Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) Program: Graduate Student Panelist
2020-Present Medical Minute Volunteer Community Liaison; scientific outreach presenter

Publications:

Fielder, A. M., Kim, S., Ruterbusch, J. J., Martin, C., Gottschlich, A., Schwartz, A. G., Beebe-Dimmer, J. L., Assad, H., Hamel, L., & Purrington, K. S. Prescription and self-reported use of endocrine therapy among Black hormone receptor-positive breast cancer survivors in the Detroit Research on Cancer Survivors cohort. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2025;214:303-17.  

Justin B Hackett, James E Glassbrook, Maria C Muñiz, Madeline Bross, Abigail Fielder, Gregory Dyson, Nasrin Movahhedin, Jennifer McCasland, Claire McCarthy-Leo, Heather M Gibson. A Diversity Outbred F1 mouse model identifies host-intrinsic genetic regulators of response to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Oncoimmunology. 2022;11:2064958.

Banning, K., Fucinari, J., Fielder, A., Ruterbusch, J. J., Beebe-Dimmer, J. L., Schwartz, A. G., Wallbillich, J. J., & Cote, M. L.  Quality of life in endometrial cancer survivors by grade of disease. Cancer Med. 2023;12:13675-86 .

Mugdha Patki, Thomas McFall, Rayna Rosati, Yanfang Huang, Agnes Malysa, Lisa Polin, Abigail Fielder, Mike R Wilson, Fulvio Lonardo, Jessica Back, Jing Li, Larry H Matherly, Gerold Bepler, Manohar Ratnam. Induction by Dexamethasone Causes Senescence Phenotype and Permanent Cell Cycle Blockade in Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells Over-expressing Glucocorticoid Receptor. Sci Rep. 2018;8:16006.

Education:

2020 Wayne State University: Dual BA in Biological Sciences and Romance Languages (Spanish Concentration)

Professional Memberships

2026-Present
2026- Present American Society of Clinical Oncology Member
2026-2029 Member, Associate Members Council, AACR
2023 - Present Associate Member, American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)           

Hometown:
Detroit, MI