Begoña Díaz

Dr. Begoña Díaz serves as Associate Professor of Medicine at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine and Investigator in Cancer Biology and Immunotherapeutics at The Lundquist Institute. She maintains active memberships in the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), and American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB).

Her academic foundation includes:

• PhD in Sciences, University Autónoma of Madrid (1999)
• Postdoctoral Training, University of California at Berkeley (2004)

Dr. Díaz's research centers on cellular invasion mechanisms and organelle stress adaptation in cancer, with specialized focus on invadopodia regulation, lysosomal/mitochondrial responses, and protein myristoylation. Her lab develops translational solutions for chronic wounds, rare disease tumors, and carcinomas including lung and pancreatic cancers. Key methodologies involve advanced imaging, molecular characterization, and tumor microenvironment analysis.

Recent publications (2019-2024) reveal intensifying emphasis on therapeutic targeting of stress-adaptation pathways, particularly N-myristoyltransferase inhibition for aggressive lung cancers and TKS5-mediated invasion mechanisms. This work bridges fundamental cell biology with clinical applications through consistent high-impact output.

No scientific awards are documented in the provided materials.

Dr. Díaz mentors nine active researchers including Lia Osipyan, Sofia Geroyska, and Yu-Chuan Chen. Her lab's sustained productivity indicates robust grant support through The Lundquist Institute's infrastructure, facilitating collaborations within UCLA's comprehensive cancer center ecosystem.

The Díaz Lab operates as a dynamic translational research unit at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, integrating cell biology expertise with clinical oncology resources to target organelle stress mechanisms in cancer progression and rare diseases.