Arlet Maria Acanda De La Rocha

Biography

Dr. Arlet Acanda de la Rocha, PhD, is a postdoctoral associate in the Azzam Lab. She received her PhD in Biomedical Research from the University of Navarra, Spain, studying the role of SOX2 and its transcriptional networks in glioblastoma stem-like cells (GSCs). Her work identified a novel onco-miR controlled by SOX2, miR-425-5p, which regulates GSC survival, neurosphere formation, cell cycle progression, and survival using orthotopic glioblastoma mouse models.

Dr. Acanda joined Dr. Azzam’s lab in 2019 as a postdoctoral associate focused on studying the role that translocator protein 18kDa (TSPO) plays in glioblastoma. She uses a multidisciplinary approach to understand the functional role of TSPO, a validated biomarker of neuroinflammation, in human-derived GSCs. Her ultimate goal is to find a therapeutic window to exploit GSCs’ vulnerabilities for better glioblastoma treatment strategies.