Elizabeth Beierle, M.D., Charles D. McCrary Endowed Chair in the UAB Division of Pediatric Surgery, has been selected as a recipient of the 2026 O’Neal Invests Award from the O’Neal Cancer Center.
Beierle’s research project is entitled, “PP2A as a Treatment Strategy in Fusion Positive Rhabdomyosarcoma,” and will focus on developing new therapeutic strategies for one of the most aggressive forms of pediatric soft tissue cancer.
Beierle received the award alongside Jamie Aye, M.D., medical director in the UAB Department of Pediatrics Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology.
Their project will investigate protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), which is frequently inactivated in human cancers to remove its tumor suppressive activity as a potential therapeutic target in fusion positive rhabdomyosarcoma, aiming to identify new treatment strategies for patients.
“This work represents an important opportunity to advance treatment options for children facing aggressive cancers,” said Beierle. “We are grateful for the support of the O’Neal Cancer Center and for the collaborative environment at UAB that makes this kind of translational research possible.”
Beierle is nationally recognized for her work in pediatric surgical oncology and her commitment to improving the range of care for children diagnosed with cancer. In addition to her research, Beierle is widely renowned for her dedication to mentorship and education. She has guided numerous undergraduate students, medical students, residents, and graduate trainees throughout her career, helping shape the next generation of physician-scientists and surgical leaders.
The legacy of the O’Neal Invests Award within the UAB Department of Surgery
Previous departmental award recipients include J. Bart Rose, M.D., MAS, the director of the UAB Pancreatobiliary Disease Center and an associate professor in the UAB Division of Surgical Oncology, who received an O’Neal Invests Award for his work on rapid detection of calreticulin as a cancer biomarker.
In 2025, Angela Carter, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the UAB Division of Surgical Oncology, also received a Catalyst Award for her research in examining microbiome alterations and colorectal cancer. In 2022, Andrea Gillis, M.D., MSPH, director of endocrine surgery research in the Division of Breast and Endocrine Surgery, received the award for her study on the effects of amphetamines on cancer prognosis.
About the O’Neal Invests Award
The UAB O’Neal Cancer Center’s O’Neal Invests Award is an internal research funding program designed to support innovative, high-impact cancer research projects at UAB.
The initiative provides competitive pilot funding to investigators whose work has strong potential to advance cancer discovery, improve patient outcomes, and generate future external funding such as NIH grants. It is intended to accelerate promising translational and clinical research by helping researchers move important ideas from the laboratory toward patient care.
O’Neal Invests supports projects across a wide range of cancer disciplines, including basic and translational cancer science, clinical and surgical oncology research, immunotherapy and tumor biology, cancer prevention and population science as well as pediatric and adult cancer therapeutics.
The 2026 O’Neal Invests funding cycle also recognizes the important support of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama (BCRFA) and the Children’s of Alabama Hope Fund, whose contributions help make these critical research investments possible.