October celebrates both ABSA International Biosafety Month and National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In recognition of these preeminent campaigns, EH&S is highlighting the outstanding contributions of USC biomedical researchers working on breast cancer research.
This year’s notable researcher is Evanthia Roussos-Torres, MD, PhD at the Department of Medical Oncology in the Keck School of Medicine.
Her research focuses on immunotherapy which has shown to be a promising replacement to previous methods that have not been effective for patients with advanced breast cancer. Her research team and collaborators are working to identify what immune cell types can get inside of tumors and how they work to prevent the appropriate immune response called immunosuppression. Once the immunosuppressive signals are found, the lab can design specific therapies that will reverse these signals and improve elimination of tumor cells using the body’s natural defenses.
Dr. Torres would like the community to know that the work her lab is currently doing has a ripple effect on other clinical trials looking to make significant changes in the medical field. Patients trust the work being performed within her lab and believe these results will yield positive health outcomes down the road.
Dr. Torres has received several awards recognizing her as an accomplished young investigator, among them the METAvivor-Early Career Investigator Award, Tower Research Foundation-Career Development Award, Concern Foundation-Conque Cancer Now Award, and Concern Foundation-Minnie Ripperton Legacy Fund.
Her numerous publications are available at: https://sites.usc.edu/roussostorreslab/publications/.
Evanthia Roussos Torres Lab web page.