STATEMENT OF CANDIDATE ELIGIBILITY AND DIVERSITY Dr. Musa Gabere is a permanent resident of the United States (Green card number: 063-359-769) of African descent. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Nairobi. He then moved to South Africa, where he completed post-graduate diploma, Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy. Dr. Gabere is interested in applying genetics and bioinformatics approaches to identify common biomarkers that can be used to develop targeted therapies for hepatobiliary cancers. In particular, he will train in understanding the transcriptome changes in hepatocarcinoma treated with immunovirotherapy, a new class of immunotherapeutic. He will be mentored by Dr. Mitesh J. Borad (Primary mentor), Dr. Richard G. Vile (Co- mentor), and Dr. Lewis Roberts (co-mentor) as part of the parent grant 5P50CA210964-03 (P.I. Dr. Richard G. Vile). The overall goal of Dr. Gabere is to pursue research in cancer genetics. Dr. Gabere will participate in various training in Mayo Clinic. These include training in virotherapy, immunotherapy, translational research and ethics. Additionally, there are weekly meetings in cancer, where he can learn and interact with Mayo Clinic Cancer Center senior investigators. In addition, to this, Dr Gabere will have the opportunity to work with large cancer genetics datasets with experts in liver and pancreatic cancer research. These datasets include but not restricted to whole genome, exome, methylome, metabolome and transcriptome for various cancers such as Cholangiocarcinoma. Dr Gabere will also have opportunity to mentor and supervise PhD students and visiting scientists to identify of antigens both in-silico and functional assays. The diversity grant will also allow Dr. Gabere to increase the number of racial and ethnic minorities who participate in biomarker discovery and clinical trials. This will allow Dr Gabere to inform and educate the minorities in the importance of clinical trials and early cancer screening. It is expected that upon receipt of the Diversity Supplement, Dr. Gabere will be able to generate vital data and apply for extramural funding, such as the care award (R21) at the end of his second year.