Carissa Thomas, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Otolaryngology, was one of 21 faculty at UAB to receive a grant from the Faculty Development Grant Program.

The UAB Faculty Development Grant Program provides assistant professors with funds to pursue research and other scholarly activity.

The program awarded Thomas $10,000 to continue her research on the oral cavity and gut microbiome biomarkers of cancer pain in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma.

This research will lead to future work on altering the microbiome to improve pain, collaborative mechanistic studies of oral cancer pain, and targeted therapeutics.