Sara Valero Díaz has a degree in Biology from the University of Cordoba, where she has also done an internship for 3 years in the 'Hormones and Cancer' Group of the Department of Cell Biology, Physiology and Immunology of the Maimonides Institute for Biomedical Research in Cordoba (IMIBIC). She has carried out her Final Degree Project on the 'Deregulation of the mechanisms of gene regulation of the different cellular compartments in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma'. In addition, she spent 9 months at Cardiff University, Wales (UK) where she continued the third year of her degree.
She has also completed a Master's Degree in Translational Biomedical Research from the University of Córdoba in the 'New Therapies in cancer' Group at IMIBIC. Where she carried out the Master's Thesis in the experimental modality on 'GSNOR deficiency in colorectal cancer: New therapeutic opportunities targeting glucose metabolism'. During which she obtained the training certificate for the manipulation of animal models (rodents). In addition to two 3-month research grants.
Currently, she belongs to Dr. Berta Casar's research group at IBBTEC, where she is working on her doctoral thesis on 'New therapeutic targets in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)' where she studies the role of monoclonal antibodies in blocking metastasis in TNBC.
Recently, she has published her first paper as first author (Valero-Diaz et al., 2024) along with other 3 collaborations about cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. She also participated in the review of a manuscript for the journal 'Lipids in Health and Disease'.
Transformation and Metastasis
IBBTEC's Transformation and Metastasis group investigates signaling pathways involved in alterations during cancer and metastasis.
The ultimate goal of these studies is to identify modulators that may represent new therapeutic targets to curb metastasis and that can be directly translated into effective prevention or treatment strategies.
The group has a multidisciplinary approach and uses chick and mouse embryo models, organoids and 3D cultures, clinical samples and molecular and cellular biology techniques, patient-derived xenografts, to translate basic research into translational oncology and clinically relevant outcomes.
Funding
- Relevancia funcional de PTPk en la rutaRas-ERK: Implicaciones terapeúticas en melanoma. MICIN(CSIC). 01/01/2017- 31/12/2019. SAF 2015-73364-JIN
- Repurposing MAPK inhibitors for the treatment of COVID-19. Proyecto Intramural Especial PIE -CSIC ref 202020E113 15/04/2020-31/12/2023
- Bases moleculares de resistencia a quimioterapia en neuroblastoma: identificación de nuevos biomarcadores y dianas terapéuticas. PIE-CSIC. 23/01/2020-present MAPK inhibitors for the treatment of COVID-19. Proyecto Gobierno de Cantabria COVID-19 ORDEN UIC/22/2020. 1/11/2020
- Mecanismos moleculares que determinan la resistencia a quimioterapia en neuroblastoma. Berta Casar. Proyecto Intramural Especial PIE CSIC 201412 5 9. 1/06/2021- 31/05/2022
- Definir el mecanismo de activacion de CDCP1 para bloquear metastasis de cancer de mama triple negative. Proyectos de I+D+i. Retos de la Sociedad, del Plan Estatal de Investigación y de Innovación 2017-2020. Referencia PID2020-112760rb-i00. 1/09/2021- 31/8/2024
- Development of a therapeutic response marker for metastatic melanoma 1/12/2021- 30/11/2023 FERO XXI BFERO2103
- Investigación preclínica de nuevas terapias dirigidas en Linfoma Cutáneo de Células T. PRECLILINF Proyectos de I+D+i. Retos de la Sociedad, del Plan Estatal de Investigación y de Innovación 2024-2027.
