Seminar

Novel therapeutic opportunities for breast cancer treatment.

Eva Gonzalez Suarez, PhD

Dr. Eva González Suarez will share data about the main research lines of the group: Role of RANKL in mammary gland biology and breast cancer and tumor immune crosstalk. Generation and characterization of orthotopic mouse models of human breast cancer for the identification of novel therapeutic targets and mechanisms of chemoresistance. Short Bio Eva Gonzalez Suarez (Oviedo 1975) is Principal Investigator of the Transformation and Metastasis Group at the Bellvitge Institute for Biomedical Research in Barcelona, Spain
http://pebc.cat. She obtained her Master degree in Biochemistry in the University of Oviedo (1998) and her PhD in Molecular Biology at the Autonoma University of Madrid, Spain (2003). During her Doctoral Thesis in M Blasco laboratory (National Center of Biotechnology/CSIC, Madrid, Spain), she made important contributions clarifying the role of telomerase in cancer and aging. Subsequently, Dr Gonzalez Suarez joined Amgen Inc, Seattle, USA, as a postgraduate fellow before assuming her current role in 2008. Her research focuses on the mechanisms leading to cell transformation, the metastatic capabilities of epithelial cells, and the identification of novel therapies and resistance mechanisms. As part of an ongoing research project, Dr Gonzalez Suarez investigates the role of the RANK pathway as a novel therapeutic target in solid tumors using genetic mouse models and patient derived xenografts. She is a member of the European Network of Breast Development and Cancer committee and the International Association for Breast Cancer Research board of governors and has been awarded the prestigious Susan G Komen career catalyst grant and an ERC Consolidator grant, and coordinates a clinical trial aiming to identify biomarkers of response to RANKL inhibitors in breast cancer patients. She has supervised three PhD students and currently leads a team of six PhD students and four postdoctoral scientists. She has authored or co-authored over 40 articles published in international peer-reviewed journals including Nature, Nature Genetics, EMBO J, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Cancer Research, Stem Cells, Stem Cell Reports and has presented at a number of international congresses.