Personal Statement
I have a PhD in Cancer Biology from The University of Texas-Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and completed my training at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. I completed a postdoctoral fellowship at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Dr. Jean-Pierre Issa’s laboratory with a focus in Cancer Epigenetics.
I am presently a Research Scientist at Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute (LRRI) in Albuquerque, NM in the laboratory of Dr. Steven Belinsky. My research activities include identification of key molecular changes that drive cell transformation and clonal outgrowth of preneoplastic lung epithelial cells that occurs in tobacco users and evaluating epigenetic therapies such as 5-azacytidine and SG110 for reducing lung tumor burden and reprogramming of the epigenome.
I have extensive training and experience in molecular biology including cytotoxic and genotoxic assays, epigenetics, gene and microRNA regulation, and cellular transformation models. To date, my experience in cancer research has given me a solid set of skills to conduct independent and collaborative research and execution/completion of funded FDA contracts. In addition, I have authored and co-authored peer-reviewed scientific publications and presented at national meetings.