معرفی
Jessie Villanueva, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Molecular and Cellular Oncogenesis Program at The Wistar Institute's Ellen and Ronald Caplan Cancer Center. She is also a Member of The Wistar Institute Melanoma Research Center and serves as Scientific Director of the Animal Facility. Her research focuses on identifying molecular targets for melanoma therapy, particularly for tumors with limited treatment options.
Dr. Villanueva's research interests center on understanding the molecular signaling pathways that become deregulated in melanoma. Her lab extensively investigates drug resistance mechanisms in melanoma, with particular focus on the RAF/MEK and PI3K/mTOR pathways as therapeutic targets. More recently, her team has been identifying new targets for NRAS mutant melanoma, which represents over 25% of all melanomas and has very limited treatment options. Her work has revealed how melanoma cells bypass the effects of RAF and MEK inhibitors by reactivating the MAPK pathway or activating alternative signaling pathways including RTKs, PI3K/mTOR, and STAT3.
Her recent publications show a strong trend toward understanding drug resistance mechanisms and identifying novel therapeutic targets, particularly for NRAS mutant melanoma. Her research increasingly focuses on non-oncogene dependencies critical for melanoma cell survival, including BRD4, TERT, and the ribosomal serine/threonine kinase S6K2. She employs advanced models including 3-D organotypic spheroids, patient-derived xenograft models, and syngeneic mouse models to evaluate potential therapies.
- Associate Staff Scientists: Adam Guterres, Ph.D., Brittany Lipchick, Ph.D.
- Postdoctoral Fellow: Martina De Bortoli, Ph.D.
- Graduate Students: Ricky Brathwaite, M.S., Filippo Sgolacchia, Arooje Nasir, M.S.
- Research Assistants: Segundo Del Aguila, B.Sc., Rocio Inga, M.Sc., Romina Garavito-Salini, B.S., Yulissa Tirado, B.S.
The Villanueva Laboratory actively studies molecular mechanisms mediating drug resistance in melanoma, aiming to design effective therapies that overcome resistance. The lab has developed pre-clinical models showing how melanoma gains resistance to BRAF and MEK inhibitors, and has identified novel resistance mechanisms including specific MEK2 mutations that confer resistance to targeted therapies.
