USU SOM Surgery Faculty - Schafer

Dr. Schafer’s doctoral dissertation research focused on the role of tryptophan metabolism in the tumor microenvironment using preclinical mouse models of lung cancer. She found that a novel combination therapy targeting the function and activity of myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) impaired tryptophan-metabolizing indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) and other related metabolic pathways which restored anti-tumor immunity in mice. Dr. Schafer also gained valuable clinical research experience evaluating immune cell subsets and enzymatic activity in whole blood of patients undergoing doublet chemotherapy.

In 2016, Dr. Schafer joined the Center for Prostate Disease Research (CPDR) as a Post-Doctoral Fellow to support the Cancer Moonshot’s APOLLO-3 prostate cancer study, in addition to a project aimed at identifying immune biomarkers and their spatial relevance in prostate tissues. Dr. Schafer has also had the opportunity to collaborate on several other CPDR research projects including p53 and lymphatic vessel invasion, ETV antibody characterization in prostate cancer, and the genomic sequencing of aggressive Renal Medullary Carcinoma.

Dr. Schafer has an academic faculty appointment as an Assistant Professor within USU Walter Reed Surgery. She is also a Staff Scientist at the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine (HJF) in support of the Murtha Cancer Center Research Program and the CPDR. Dr. Schafer has a profound interest in translational cancer research. Her projects revolve around studying the tumor microenvironment as well as the immunologic and genetic underpinnings in prostate cancer, especially as it relates to health disparity. She has also served as a mentor to summer students, graduate students, medical students, and fellows over the years.

Grants and awards:

• Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program - Prostate Cancer Research Program Health Disparity Fellowship Award 
• HJF Superior Performance Award
• USU VPR Intramural Discovery Award 

Dr. Cara Schafer received her B.S. from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and M.S. from Georgetown University. She earned her Ph.D. in Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in the Cancer Biology Graduate Biomedical Sciences program. Dr. Schafer’s doctoral dissertation research focused on the role of tryptophan metabolism in the tumor microenvironment using preclinical mouse models of lung cancer. She found that a novel combination therapy targeting the function and activity of myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) impaired tryptophan-metabolizing indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) and other related metabolic pathways which restored anti-tumor immunity in mice. Dr. Schafer also gained valuable clinical research experience evaluating immune cell subsets and enzymatic activity in whole blood of patients undergoing doublet chemotherapy.

In 2016, Dr. Schafer joined the Center for Prostate Disease Research (CPDR) as a Post-Doctoral Fellow to support the Cancer Moonshot’s APOLLO-3 prostate cancer study, in addition to a project aimed at identifying immune biomarkers and their spatial relevance in prostate tissues. Dr. Schafer has also had the opportunity to collaborate on several other CPDR research projects including p53 and lymphatic vessel invasion, ETV antibody characterization in prostate cancer, and the genomic sequencing of aggressive Renal Medullary Carcinoma.

Dr. Schafer has an academic faculty appointment as an Assistant Professor within USU Walter Reed Surgery. She is also a Staff Scientist at the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine (HJF) in support of the Murtha Cancer Center Research Program and the CPDR. Dr. Schafer has a profound interest in translational cancer research. Her projects revolve around studying the tumor microenvironment as well as the immunologic and genetic underpinnings in prostate cancer, especially as it relates to health disparity. She has also served as a mentor to summer students, graduate students, medical students, and fellows over the years.

Dr. Schafer is a recipient of a Department of Defense CDMRP PCRP Health Disparity Fellowship Award, an HJF Superior Performance Award, and a USUHS VPR Intramural Discovery Award.

Professional activities:
Chair, APOLLO New Platforms Working Group
Member, NIH/NCI Cancer Screening Research Network (CSRN) Technology Evaluation Committee
Active Member, American Association of Cancer Research (AACR)
Scientific Peer Reviewer, DoD Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) Prostate Cancer Research Program