Associate Investigator Clinical and Translational Cancer Research Division Deputy Executive Director Director Division of Shared Resources and Scientific Operations UPR-Comprehensive Cancer Center San Juan, Puerto Rico
Email: ecaraballo@cccupr.org
Complete list of publications: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Caraballo+EV&cauthor_id=27149205
Dr. Elba V. Caraballo Rivera is the Deputy Executive Director of the University of Puerto Rico Comprehensive Cancer Center (UPRCCC) and the Director of its Shared Resources and Scientific Operations Division, where she oversees the operation of seven highly specialized facilities that provide support for the development of translational and basic cancer research. Furthermore, she assists in establishing institutional research priorities while supporting the management of funded programs and their research teams. As part of her roles within the institution, she is an associate investigator at the Clinical and Translational Cancer Research Division. Dr. Caraballo is trained in molecular virology and immunology, with vast experience in both fields. In 2014, she earned her Ph.D. in Microbiology and Medical Zoology from the University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus (UPRMSC) in collaboration with the Vector-Borne Diseases Division of the CDC in Puerto Rico. In 2019, she completed a Post-doctoral Master of Science degree in Clinical and Translational Research at UPRMSC. Within this period, she collaborated with multiple peer-reviewed publications on mosquito-transmitted diseases. Beyond her formal education, Dr. Caraballo provides the UPRCCC with her extensive experience in the laboratory, which has sharpened her experimental design skills and data analysis techniques, as well as advanced molecular biology applications and flow cytometry. Dr. Caraballo’s research centers on discovering, testing, and validating blood and molecular biomarkers for the non-invasive and cost-effective diagnosis of colorectal cancer and identifying predictive biomarkers for risk stratification. Recently, she has been exploring the relationship between viral infections, such as Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) and Human Papillomavirus (HPV), and colorectal cancer (CRC). She is currently involved in collaborative projects to study the regulation mechanisms of essential pathways and target genes in CRC and its potential as an anticancer therapeutic approach.
Additionally, Dr. Caraballo leads the Immuno-Oncology Core (IOC) Laboratory, one of seven Shared Resources UPRCCC offers. Under her direction, the IOC focuses on pioneering cancer immunotherapy research, advancing novel immunotherapies, and fostering transformative scientific partnerships to improve cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment in the Puerto Rican Hispanic population. Dr. Caraballo brings a broad range of multidisciplinary expertise to the cancer research community, including microbiology, virology, and molecular immunology. Her work and contributions to science have advanced the understanding of the immune biomarkers and mechanisms and provided a framework for future immunotherapeutic developments in CRC.