L´Oreál for Women in Science 2011 Portugal, awards Ana Barbas, Bayer Healthcare Satellite Antibody Discovery Laboratory
The 8th Edition of L´Oreál for Women in Science 2011 Portugal, awards Ana Barbas, researcher at iBET, for her project in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer, the oncological disease that affects and kills most women in Portugal. Ana´s project aims to reduce the abnormal growth and cell division that occurs in tumors, derived from alterations in cell-to-cell communication.
With this research she aims at creating human antibodies capable of blocking the binding between Jagged2 protein and its receptor Notch1, so to suspend the release of signaling proteins that lead to the increase of angiogenesis (the process of blood vessel formation) and tumor growth.
High levels of expression of Notch protein – and proteins binding to it have already been detected in several breast cancers, proving that the Notch signaling pathway is fundamental in breast cancer pathogenesis. Thus generating function blocking antibodies may present a novel and innovative therapeutic approach in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer.
Ana will resort to phage display technology that allows a very safe approach in the isolation of human antibodies. This technology already showed to be very reliable in the identification and validation of new cancer-related targets. This work aims to contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in the pathology of breast cancer, helping to making available better therapeutic targets for tumoral regression.
Launched in 2004, the partnership between L´Oreal Portugal, UNESCO National Foundation and Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, was born to award young researchers that develop their work in Portugal. This program awards women with PhD till the age of 35 years, that in following their line of research for its relevance in health, life and environment quality should not be halted by lack of support.
Ana Barbas is the project manager and team leader of the Bayer Healthcare Satellite Antibody Discovery Laboratory
Pavilhão do Conhecimento, 25th January, 2012
