Cancer Stem Cell Biologist Monica Guzman Appointed To Faculty
Dr. Monica Guzman, an investigator in the rapidly developing area of cancer stem cells, was appointed Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology on July 1, 2009. Dr. Guzman is widely regarded as a pioneer and expert in devising therapies that target leukemia stem cells.
Having previously done research in several laboratories in Spain and the United States, Dr. Guzman received her Ph.D. in 2002 in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics at the University of Kentucky under the mentorship of Dr. Craig Jordan. Her initial work identified critical biological mechanisms that distinguish leukemia stem cells (LSCs) from normal hematopoietic stem cells, and demonstrated for the first time that such characteristics can be used to target LSCs without destroying their normal stem cell counterparts in the bone marrow. By studying cancer stem cell specific gene pathways, she has identified several new drugs. These included parthenolide, an active compound derived from a medicinal plant, which became the first cancer stem cell specific drug ever identified. Dr. Guzman's research has contributed to emphasize the existence and critical importance of cancer stem cells initiating and maintaining malignancy, and has pioneered the new field of cancer stem cell targeted therapy. To complement her basic laboratory research, she will closely collaborate with our clinical faculty on novel therapies to target leukemia stem cells.
We welcome Dr. Monica Guzman to the Department of Medicine of Weill Cornell Medical College.