2015_02_23_CIE_sonia_martinez

financial aid Sonia Martínez, a graduate in Biology from the University of Navarra, School , has obtained a grant of 56,000 euros from the AECC to research therapies against colorectal cancer. Specifically, she will study the function of adrenomedullin, a hormone directly related to tumor growth and metastasis training .

As she explains, despite early detection tests and the therapies of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, "colorectal cancer is the second cancer with the second highest mortality rate worldwide. This shows us that there is still a long way to go in the treatment of this subject of tumors." His research will also focus on testing whether the use of small artificial molecules that block adrenomedullin are capable of slowing the progression of this disease.

Future plans and trajectory

After finishing the three-year period of her scholarship at research center Biomedica de La Rioja (CIBIR), the biologist plans to do a post-doctoral stay abroad "in some of the centers where they also work with adrenomedullin, such as the NIH in the United States or the French INSERM".

Sonia Martínez has completed an International Master's Degree in Psychobiology and Cognitive Neuroscience at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and a University Master's Degree research in Health Sciences at the Public University of Navarra, both passed with A. Previously, she finished her programs of study in Biology at the University of Navarra in 2010, a stage that she says "has accompanied and served me throughout all these years".

"Having studied at the School of Sciences of the University of Navarra is synonymous with guarantee for the people who hire or evaluate you. In addition, previous experience at laboratory and knowing how to perform basic processes such as extracting DNA, performing immunohistochemistry, or PCR, to give some examples, makes it much easier for you when it comes to entering the labor market."