Janice Santiago, PhD

Dr. Janice M. Santiago-O’Farrill is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Robert C. Bast at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Santiago-O’Farrill completed her B.S. from the University of Puerto Rico in 2008, where she was recipient of the National Smart Scholarship. Subsequently, she completed an M.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the School of Pharmacy, University of Puerto Rico-Medical Sciences Campus. As a master’s student, she had the opportunity to participate in a summer research training program at MD Anderson Cancer Center through the University of Puerto Rico (UPR)/MD Anderson Cancer Center U54 Partnership for Excellence in Cancer Research Program. This experience confirmed her commitment to continue to work in cancer research.  For this reason, after completing her master’s degree, she earned a Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from The University of Texas MD Anderson / UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Her doctoral studies were conducted in the laboratory of Dr. Eugenie S. Kleinerman and focused on autophagy as a mechanism implicated in osteosarcoma resistance to chemotherapy. This research stimulated her interest in autophagy and her passion for cancer research.In 2015, Dr. Santiago-O’Farrill joined Dr. Bast’s laboratory, which has a strong background and expertise in the field of autophagy and ovarian cancer. She has found that olaparib, an FDA-approved PARP inhibitor, induces autophagy that enhances drug resistance in ovarian cancer cells. Having elucidated the mechanism by which olaparib induces autophagy, she is currently combining olaparib with FDA approved drugs that are selectively toxic for autophagic cancer cells, producing additive and synergistic antitumor activity. Dr. Santiago-O’Farrill received several awards for her graduate work including a First Place Research Award from the University of Puerto Rico- Medical Sciences Campus, and a Keystone Symposia National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Ancillary Training Program Scholarship. For her postdoctoral work, she has been awarded an AACR Minority Cancer Research Award. She is also a recipient of the NCI Research Diversity Supplement Award. The OCRA Ann and Sol Schreiber Mentored Investigator Award will help Dr. Santiago-O’Farrill to further growth as a translational scientist and better prepare her for an independent career with the goal of improving outcomes for women with ovarian cancer.