Hello! My name is Mario Robledo. I am honored to serve on the Cancer Research and Outreach committee of the Kelsey Starling Foundation. I am a graduate of Troy University, having attained a bachelor's degree in Biomedical Sciences. I pursued healthcare-related research opportunities, which turned into life-changing experiences.
In my academic career, I have conducted cancer research at Duke University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), and Troy University. Currently, I am a DIRECT Cancer Research Fellow at Duke University. I work in the Duke Cancer Institute under Dr. Jason Somarelli, Phd. Here at Duke, I am a Clinical Research Fellow, and I collect preclinical data for clinical trials. Currently, I am working in drug research and discovery for castration-resistant metastatic prostate cancer and leukemia. At UAB, I worked in the Department of Surgery. I was based in neuroendocrine research labs under Dr. J. Bart Rose, MD, and Dr. Rachael Guenter, PhD, studying pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors—a rare and complex form of pancreatic cancer. I led a new research project gathering preclinical data for a chemotherapy drug combination trial targeting gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumors.
Additionally, I worked under Dr. Ankur Saxena, PhD, in the Department of Cell, Developmental, and Integrative Biology as a research technician. In Dr. Saxena's lab, I contributed to multiple projects, including mapping neurogenesis in zebrafish, investigating the role of AB-42 in Alzheimer's disease, and examining critical pathways involved in neuroblastoma metastasis.
At Troy University, I worked in Dr. Jacqueline Jones' lab, researching prostate cancer metastasis to the bone. In my time at Troy University, I had the opportunity to travel to multiple national conferences where I presented my data to international audiences. My favorite opportunity with Dr. Jones was traveling to Washington, D.C., to speak with lawmakers about the importance of undergraduate research at our universities across the United States. I have decided to devote my life to studying and killing cancer as a future physician-scientist. It is a devastating disease that has taken the lives of many family members and friends, and my life goal is to advance cancer research and advocacy.