Assistant Professor at the Department of Biology at UPR-Rio Piedras.
Dr. Peterson is a Latina Cancer Biologist, an NIH-funded investigator, and a science educator. She obtained her BS in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. After graduating, she moved on to pursue a graduate degree from the prestigious University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, from which she graduated with a Ph.D. in Human Genetics. Then she wanted to focus on signaling pathways associated with breast cancer and moved to Albert Einstein College of Medicine for postgraduate training. Dr. Peterson has more than 15 years of experience in cell biology, molecular biology, and cancer biology, focusing on breast cancer. Her dream was always to return to his alma mater, the University of Puerto Rico, and contribute to the breast cancer research field. In 2016, her dream became a reality, and is currently an Assistant Professor at the Department of Biology at UPR-Rio Piedras. She has expertise in the use of three-dimensional models of cell culture, tumor microenvironment, and mouse models to address important questions about the molecular mechanism of development and progression of breast cancer. Currently, her research work focuses on characterizing molecular signatures of one of the deadliest subtypes of breast cancer, inflammatory breast cancer (IBC). The main objective of her laboratory at UPR-RP is to understand better the pathogenesis, and molecular signature of IBC and identify new therapeutic targets.