I am a physician scientist with interest for cancer clinical trials / research and epidemiology. Currently, I am a Postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Medical School (Brian C. Lewis lab), Adjunt Member of the Pancreas Program at the UMass Memorial Cancer Center of Excellence, and Member of the Center for Clinical & Translational Science at UMass Medical School. My professional education and previous training consist of BS degree (1995-1999, Biology) from the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) at Rio Piedras, MD degree (1999-2004, Research Pathway) from the UPR School of Medicine, Clinical Internship (2004-2005, Internal Medicine) from the UPR School of Medicine, MSc degree (2005-2007, Clinical Research) from the UPR Medical Sciences Campus, and Research Training (2007-2008, Internal Medicine) from the UPR School of Medicine. Through every stage of my education and training, I have performed basic and clinical research in diverse fields: pancreatic, colorectal, breast, and skin cancers, chronic hepatitis C, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, drug addiction, medical ethics, among others. The research findings from my work have been extensively published and presented. As a product of my work, I have received multiple honors, awards, and scholarships. In addition, I have participated in multiple courses, seminars, and workshops that enrich my experience. My biomedical research experience has allowed me to serve as a clinical research consultant and judge in multiple basic and clinical research presentations events and school science fairs.
Articles
Age as a deciding factor in the consideration of futility for a medical intervention in patients among Internal Medicine physicians in two practice locations (with D. M. Cruz-Oliver, D. R. Thomas, T. K. Malmstrom, and M. A. Paniagua), J Am Med Dir Assoc (2010)
OBJECTIVES: This study explores physicians' concepts of futility and use of age as a deciding...
Mismatch repair protein expression and colorectal cancer in Hispanics from Puerto Rico (with C. Gonzalez-Keelan, R. Zhao, S. R. Hamilton, M. Rodriguez-Bigas, and M. Cruz-Correa), Fam Cancer (2010)
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality and alterations in mismatch...
[Mouse models of human cancer: valuable tools for oncological research] (Spanish), Galenus (2010)
[En Puerto Rico, en el 2008, el cáncer fue la segunda causa de muerte, después...
Serrated adenomas (with C. Gonzalez-Keelan and M. Cruz-Correa), Curr Gastroenterol Rep (2009)
Serrated adenomas are categorized as sessile serrated adenomas (SSAs) and traditional serrated adenomas (TSAs). SSAs...
Dysphagia and lung aspiration secondary to anterior cervical osteophytes: a case report and review of the literature (with E. I. Cruz-Cuevas), Ethn Dis (2008)
INTRODUCTION: Two of the most common causes of anterior cervical bony outgrowths are diffuse idiopathic...
Book contributions
Cutaneous manifestations of gastrointestinal diseases (with M. I. Vazquez-Roque), Atlas of Dermatology in Internal Medicine (2011)
in press.
[My experience as a cancer researcher] (Spanish), [Boricuan Science: Essays and Anecdotes of the Puerto Rican Scientist] (Spanish) (2011)
[The science fair: your first experience in research] (Spanish), [Boricuan Science: Essays and Anecdotes of the Puerto Rican Scientist] (Spanish) (2011)
[La feria científica escolar es la exhibición de proyectos que utilizan el método científico. La...
Developing a research study plan, Quick research guide (in CD) (2008)
How to write a proposal for Institutional Review Board (IRB), Quick research guide (in CD) (2008)
Selected cancer-related published abstracts
Gli activation is required for pancreatic tumor formation in vivo (Abstract 140) (with M. Rajurkar, J. Mao, and B. C. Lewis), Gastroenterology 2011;140(5 Suppl 1):S-34 (2011)
The requirement of Gli transcriptional activity in Kras-induced pancreatic neoplasia (Abstract 241) (with M. Rajurkar, B. C. Lewis, and J. Mao), Gastroenterology 2011;140(5 Suppl 1):S-54 (2011)
Complementary and alternative medicine in the treatment of colorectal and pancreatic cancers: promising therapies for the future (Abstract P6), J Investig Med 2008;56:814 (2008)
Purpose of Study: Colorectal and pancreatic cancers were estimated to be the third and fourth...
Complementary and alternative medicine in the treatment of colorectal cancer: a systematic review on this promising therapy (Abstract P-273), Ann Oncol 2008;19(Suppl 6):vi98 (2008)
Background: Colorectal cancer is a common malignancy with an annual incidence of over 945,000 cases...