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Adriana Forero, PhD



Dr. Adriana Forero

Contact

Mentor

Dr. Saumendra Sarkar

Education

PhD in Molecular Virology and Microbiology, University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, 2014

BA in Biology, Wesleyan College, 2004


Why I chose Pitt

I chose the MVM Program at the University of Pittsburgh because the environment seemed very collaborative and there is a diverse virology program. I also liked that the program allowed me to get some teaching experience and provided avenues to present my research through seminars and research symposiums organized within the program. I was also attracted by the growing number of institutes within the university, like the UPCI, which allowed me the opportunity to develop my interest in cancer virology. Most importantly, I chose Pitt because I found it to be very oriented towards fostering the students' potential in and outside of the laboratory environment. This made me realize that Pitt was the place for me to grow as a researcher, but also as a wholesome professional.

Following her graduation, Adriana accepted a position as a Senior Fellow at the University of Washington in the lab of Dr. Michael G. Katze.

Publications

Reinhart B, Mazzacurati L, Forero A, Hong C. S, Eguchi J, Okada H, Fellows W, Niranjan A, Cohen J. B, Glorioso J. C, and Grandi P. Inhibition of Indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) in Glioblastoma Cells by Oncolytic Herpes Simplex Virus. Adv Virol. 2012: 815465. |  View Abstract

Umemura N, Zhu J, Mburu Y. K, Forero A, Hsieh P. N, Muthuswamy R, Kalinski P, Ferris R. L, and Sarkar S. N. Defective NF-kappaB signaling in metastatic head and neck cancer cells leads to enhanced apoptosis by double-stranded RNA. Cancer Res. 72: 45-55. |  View Abstract