Martin E. Fernandez-Zapico

Dr. Fernandez-Zapico is a Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology at the Mayo Clinic. His research program seeks to understand the molecular mechanisms regulating pancreatic cancer, a devastating disease predicted to be the second cause of cancer death in 2030. His thematic interests include: (1) the discovery and characterization of new epigenetic pathways regulating pancreatic tumor microenvironment, in particular, the inflammatory and pro-fibrogenic response within this cellular compartment; (2) define the role of nuclear organization in the aberrant activation of oncogenic gene expression and its impact in the developing pancreatic cancer; and (3) identification of new transcriptional complexes mediating KRAS induced pancreatic carcinogenesis.

Dr. Fernandez-Zapico's program is affiliated with the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, Department of Oncology, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and the Center for Cell Signaling in Gastroenterology. His research is supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the NIH-funded Mayo Clinic Pancreatic Cancer Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE), the NIH-funded Mayo Clinic Center for Cell Signaling in Gastroenterology, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation.