Dr. Gretchen M. Alicea
Principal Investigator
Dr. Alicea received her B.S. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Puerto Rico, where she first discovered her passion for research while studying breast cancer cells. She earned her Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from The Wistar Institute under the mentorship of Dr. Ashani Weeraratna. Her work focused on how aging impacts the tumor microenvironment and contributes to therapy resistance. She completed her postdoctoral training at Johns Hopkins University under the mentorship of Denis Wirtz. Her work investigated how the tumor microenvironment drives melanoma progression and explored ways to improve CAR T cell therapy for solid tumors. Her lab focuses on the tumor microenvironment, metabolism, and personalizing therapy.
Outside the lab, Dr. Alicea enjoys spending quality time with her family, diving into books from her home mini library, playing board games, traveling, baking, and interior design. If she hadn’t pursued a career in science, she imagines she would have become either an interior designer or a detective.
THE TEAM
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