Dr. Esther Guzmán leads the Cancer Cell Biology Group of the Marine Biomedical and Biotechnology Research program at HBOI. Her research focuses on finding marine natural products that have the potential to be novel therapeutics against the over a hundred diseases grouped under the term cancer. This includes using marine natural products to prevent cancer formation, eliminate existing tumors, stop metastasis, re-activate immune response against tumors, or as tools to further understanding of the diseases. While progress has been made against many forms of cancer, some still have dismal survival rates, highlighting the urgent need for new therapies. Marine natural products represent a wealth of potential treatments against cancer that have yet to be fully characterized. Dr. Guzman grew up in Mexico City and went on to earn a B.S. in Molecular Biology/Biotechnology from Salem-Teikyo University and a Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

K-12 Resources: K-12 Extension Activities

Spring Series Schedule:

Mar. 1 – Oceanic Whitetip Shark Research & Conservation

Apr. 5 – Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease in the Caribbean

May 3 – Discovery of Potential Cancer Therapeutics From Marine Organisms