Amaia Lujambio, Ph.D. Associate Professor
Amaia Lujambio is an Associate Professor at the Department of Oncological Sciences at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She holds a joint appointment as an Associate Professor in the Liver Cancer Program.
Her research focuses on how genetic and epigenetic alterations contribute to tumorigenesis, alter treatment response, and create vulnerabilities that may be targeted therapeutically. Furthermore, she is also interested in understanding the role of cellular senescence in liver cancer initiation.
Amaia was born in Goizueta (Navarra) in 1982. She received her Ph.D. from the Autonoma University of Madrid (Spain) in 2009, mentored by Manel Esteller at the Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO) and working on the epigenetic regulation of microRNAs in cancer. She then joined Scott Lowe´s lab for her postdoctoral studies, first at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories (CSHL), and then at Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). She focused on the study of basic and applied aspects of liver cancer: from the role of cellular senescence in liver tumorigenesis to the identification of potential therapeutic targets for the disease.
In addition to her work in liver cancer, Amaia is also interested in art, movies, sports and traveling.
Education & Training
2009-2014 Postdoctoral Research. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, USA
2005-2009 Ph.D. in Molecular Biology. Spanish National Cancer Center,
Madrid, Spain
2000-2005 B.S. in Biology. University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
Fellowships
2014 Ramon y Cajal Program, Spanish Government. Declined
2010-2011 EMBO Long Term Fellowship (EMBO ALTF 1059-2009)
2010 Postdoctoral Fellowship, Spanish Government. Declined
2008 EMBO Short Term Fellowship (EMBO ASTF 331-2008)
2006 Ramón Areces Fellowship. Declined
2006-2009 FPU Fellowship, Spanish Government (AP2005-0847)
2005-2006 Ph.D. Bridging Fellowship, CNIO
2004-2005 Undergraduate Research Fellowship, Spanish Government
2004 Undergraduate Research Program Fellowship, CNIO
Awards and Honors
2018 Associate Scientific Advisor, Science Translational Medicine
2018 Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award
2015 AASLD Pinnacle Research Award in Liver Disease.
2013 Travel Award, Aspen Cancer Conference, Aspen.
2010 Ph.D. Thesis Award by the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.
2008 Travel Award, Interplay among genetics, epigenetics and ncRNAs,
Madrid.
2007 AACR Travel Award, Role of non-coding RNAs in cancer, Boston.
2007 Eduardo Gallego Award, Fundación Francisco Cobos, Madrid.
2007 Keystone Symposia Scholarship, MicroRNAs and Cancer, Keystone.
2006 2nd Spanish National Prize in Biology, Spanish Government.
2005 1st Prize by the University of Navarra in Biology, Pamplona, Spain.
2004 Best oral communication Award, Oncology Congress for Students,
Pamplona, Spain.
2000 1st Prize: Mathematics Olympiad in Navarra, Spain.
2000 1st Prize: Florencio Ansoleaga Foundation Special Award for the
best High School results in Navarra, Spain.