Assistant Professor, Division of Cancer Biology University of Puerto Rico Comprehensive Cancer Center San Juan, PR
Email: maria.gonzalez9@upr.edu
Dr. María Gonzalez-Pons completed the Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. In 2011, she earned her Ph.D. in Microbiology and Medical Parasitology at the University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus. She subsequently completed postdoctoral training in gastrointestinal cancer research at the University of Puerto Rico Comprehensive Cancer Center (UPRCCC) under the mentorship of Dr. Marcia Cruz-Correa.
Dr. Gonzalez-Pons is currently an Associate Investigator in the Division of Clinical and Translational Research at UPRCCC and serves as Co-leader of the Human Tissue Engineering Laboratory, home to the first patient-derived organoid collection in the Caribbean. Her research focuses on gene–environment interactions, microorganism-driven carcinogenesis, and the molecular underpinnings of gastrointestinal cancer health disparities, particularly among Hispanic populations.
In 2018, she received a Transition Career Development Award (K22) to investigate host genetic susceptibility to gut microbiota–driven colorectal carcinogenesis and to establish her independent research program. She is a Research Project Leader within the Center for the Promotion of Cancer Health Equity (CePCHE), where she leads a study on the epidemiologic and germline genomic characterization of early-onset colorectal cancer among Hispanics. In January 2026, Dr. Gonzalez-Pons was appointed one of the Multiple Principal Investigators (MPI) of the multi-site grant, “Mechanisms Underlying Gastric Intestinal Metaplasia and Carcinogenesis,” conducted under the NCI-sponsored Program on the Origins of Gastroesophageal Cancers consortium.
Dr. Gonzalez-Pons has authored more than 30 peer-reviewed publications spanning gastrointestinal cancer genetics, cancer health disparities, and microbial contributions to carcinogenesis. She also serves as a scientific editor for the Puerto Rico Clinical and Translational Research Consortium.