Meet Dr. Maria Luisa Varela, a Postdoctoral Fellow from Dr. Pedro Lowenstein’s Lab. 

1.      What motivated you to pursue postdoctoral training, and what led you to join the Castro and Lowenstein Lab? During my PhD, I’ve studied different types of tumors. For my postdoctoral training, I wanted to work on a challenging pathology, as is glioblastoma. Dr. Lowenstein’s and Dr. Castro’s bench side to bedside research was the perfect challenge.

2.      What is one key finding or aspect of your current research that you’re particularly excited or proud about? I had the opportunity to contribute to the final stage of Dr. Castro’s and Dr. Lowenstein’s clinical trial. Together, we were able to demonstrate long-term expression of HSV-TK in patients, even up to 17 months after treatment. This finding supports the possibility of extending prodrug administration, which could improve therapeutic outcomes for patients receiving this treatment.

3.      What advice would you give to graduate students or early trainees who are considering a career in your research area? Always keep an open mind and build collaborations with researchers from a wide range of disciplines. Science is fundamentally a collective and collaborative effort, and progress often comes from combining different perspectives and areas of expertise.