The USC Mann PhD candidate, who immigrated to the U.S. from Ukraine, is recognized for her liver cancer research and mentorship of other students.
Ielyzaveta “Liza” Slarve, a fifth-year PhD candidate in molecular pharmacology and toxicology, has been awarded the 2025–26 Charles and Charlotte Krown Fellowship, the top honor given to graduate students at the USC Mann School.
Slarve is conducting research under the guidance of Bangyan Stiles, the Boyd P. and Elsie D. Welin Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, investigating the molecular mechanism behind liver cancer, a disease that is often diagnosed too late for effective intervention. Currently, she is investigating molecules in the liver that drive cancer development and assessing whether they could become potential therapeutic targets.
In April, Slarve served as first author on a paper in Cellular Signalling about a specific cellular signaling protein, AKT2, that acts as the primary switch that increases the levels of a molecule called osteopontin (OPN) in liver cells. This finding is significant because high OPN levels are often linked to chronic inflammation and the development of liver cancer.