Elsa Flores

Elsa Renee Flores is an American biologist and chemist.^[1][2] She is a member of the editorial board of Cancer Research, a very prestigious research journal.^[3] She is the leader of the Cancer Molecular Pathobiology study section at the United State's National Institutes of Health.^[3] Before this, she served as the co-director of the Metastasis Research Center.^[3] She was also the director of the Genes and Development Ph.D. program at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.^[3][4]

Early life

Flores grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas.^[1] Her father studied biology and chemistry which sparked her love for science.^[1] However, when she had to make a decision for college, she was stuck between science and liberal arts.^[1] In the end, she enrolled at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and majored in chemical engineering.^[1] Later, she came back as a postdoctoral fellow.^[1] As a postdoc she worked in Tyler Jacks's lab.^[1] Flores was a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.^[1]

Career

Flores’ maternal grandmother and aunt were both diagnosed with cancer.^[1] Her family members' health inspired Flores to study cancer.^[1]

Flores was a member of the editorial board of Cancer Research.^[3]

Flores discovered many ways to tackle cancer that can be used as possible cancer treatments in the future.^[1] She studied causes of breast cancer with Helmut Zarbl.^[1] At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she worked in Paul Lambert's Lab.^[1] She dissected the life cycle of the human papillomavirus- a major cause of cervical cancer.^[1]

Flores discovered cancerous tumors could regress with a protein called amylin.^[1] This discovery helped her continue her search for the cure for cancer.^[1]

Flores holds several patents for inventions to help fight cancer.^[5][6]