Marie Curie Actions: Inspiring Researchers - Imdea

Brain gain in SpainDr Quintana has a passion for science. ‘After fi nishing my PhDat the University of Valencia’s Department of Pharmacology,I was sure I wanted to do science for the rest of my life.This was because of the wonderful experience I had underDr Juan Vicente Esplugues and Dr Maria Dolores Barrachinaat Valencia. They really reinforced my passion for science andalways encouraged me to have my own ideas,’ she recalls.Given her interest in cancer stem cells, Dr Quintana decidedthat the next step would be to study stem cell biology. ‘It wasa risky change since my background was not in that area.However, in my opinion, postdoctoral training provides a goodopportunity to change fi elds. In that way, by the time you areready to start your own group you have really doubled yourscientifi c training,’ she remarks.Thanks to a Marie Curie Fellowship, which allows Fellows toexplore new career paths, Dr Quintana was able to join thelaboratory of Dr Sean Morrison at the University of Michiganin the United States for two years. This allowed her to workwith a world leader in stem cell biology and gain the necessaryexperience. In her return year at the University of Valencia sheis further developing her new skills.Detecting sleeper cellsGiven the groundbreaking nature of the cancer research inwhich Elsa Quintana is involved, her love of science couldprove invaluable to millions of people. The research she isconducting for her fellowship involves studying the tumorigenicpotential of human melanoma cells, in other words, looking atthe potential for skin cancer to develop.‘We have increased the ability to detect tumour formationby several orders of magnitude, making it possible for thefi rst time to detect effi cient tumorigenesis from single cells,’the researcher explains. So far, her research suggests thatmelanoma cells with the potential to turn into tumours are farmore common than had previously been thought.‘The question of whether cells with tumorigenic potentialare common or rare within human cancers has fundamentalimplications for therapy,’ she says.© CNRS Photothèque - Arnaud Duchon189