After I earned my doctoral degree in Microbiology, my first postdoctoral appointment in U.S was in the laboratory of Dr. Keiran Smalley at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center. Our main objective was to develop novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of melanoma through the inhibition of cell signaling pathways in cell …show more content…
Andrew Jakymiw at Medical University of South Carolina in two independent projects. In the first project, we studied the RNA interference (RNAi) biology and how dysregulation of its molecular components contribute to oral cancer pathogenesis. We were the first group to provide biochemical evidence for the existence of the Dicer1e transcript and characterize its product, Dicer1e, as a variant of Dicer1 proteins overexpressed in Oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) cell lines of epithelial phenotype and in OSCC tissues. In the second project, I examined the feasibility of new methods to delivery RNAi-based therapies for oral cancer. By using a custom-made chimeric peptide as vehicle, we effectively introduced siRNAs into oral cancer cells and successfully silenced the target gene. Our finding was significant because it showed the potential used of an endosome-disruptive fusogenic peptide as a new therapeutic strategy for the treatment of oral cancer. Unfortunately, I could not continue my work due to the one-year home residency requirement that I had as a H1B visa …show more content…
Before joining Dr. Smalley’s group, I worked as a Research Laboratory Assistant under the supervision of Dr. Nestor Gonzalez-Cadavid at UCLA. At that time, I was also a graduate student in a Ph.D. program in Venezuela and Dr. Cadavid was my thesis advisor. Finally, my last job was in Ecuador where I cooperated in the Prometeo Project along with other scientists to boost scientific research in a university which did not meet the minimum academic and research standards that the Ecuadorian government was asking for. I worked with them until the research funding ran