Laura Soucek

Last updated
Laura Soucek
Born
Velletri
Alma mater Sapienza University of Rome
University of California, San Francisco
Scientific career
InstitutionsVall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology, ICREA, UAB

Laura Soucek (born 1973) is a Group Leader at VHIO (the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology), Research Professor at ICREA, and CEO of Peptomyc S.L. She works on the Myc oncoprotein, the deregulation of which occurs during almost all cancers. Soucek has designed a dominant negative variant, Omomyc, which allows her to investigate the benefits of inhibiting Myc in cancer.

Contents

Early life and education

Soucek was born in Velletri on the outskirts of Rome. [1] She studied biology at the Sapienza University of Rome and graduated in 1996. [2] During this time she started researching novel treatments for cancer. [3] After earning her bachelor's degree, Soucek obtained a doctorate in genetics and molecular biology researching at the National Research Centre in Rome in 2001. [4] That same year, she joined the University of California, San Francisco as a postdoctoral fellow. She was appointed as an Assistant Researcher in the laboratory of Gerard Evan in 2006. She returned to Europe in 2011, joining VHIO (Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology) as Principal Investigator of the Mouse Models of Cancer Therapies Laboratory. [3]

Research and career

Soucek is Head of the Mouse Models of Cancer Therapies Group at VHIO and was the first woman and non-Spanish national to be appointed as Principal Investigator at that Institution. She became research professor at ICREA in 2014. In 2014 she founded a spin-out company, Peptomyc S.L.. [5] [6] In 2015 she was made associate professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. [7] Her research considers the Myc oncoprotein, a protein that cancer cells appear to depend on, which had long been considered too difficult to target. [2] [8] She has demonstrated that inhibition of Myc can have a dramatic therapeutic index in mouse models of cancer, causing minimal side effects in normal proliferating tissues. Soucek created Omomyc, a dominant negative form of Myc that can inhibit the oncogene without causing adverse impacts. [6] [9] As Omomyc is tolerated by mice and has anti-tumour activity, Soucek has been developing an efficient and safe drug version of it. [6] She believes that inhibition of Myc can force the immune system to wake up, and kill cancer from the inside and outside. [8] Peptomyc have demonstrated that Omomyc can be used against non-small-cell lung carcinoma and potentially be used for other oncological indications. [6]

In 2019 Laura was awarded the European Institute of Innovation and Technology Public Prize. [10] [11] She featured in a FC Barcelona commercial to advertise the 2019/2020 season kit. The advert paid homage to people who have contributed to the community of Barcelona. [12]

Selected publications

Her publications include:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oncogene</span> Gene that has the potential to cause cancer

An oncogene is a gene that has the potential to cause cancer. In tumor cells, these genes are often mutated, or expressed at high levels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Embryonic stem cell</span> Type of pluripotent blastocystic stem cell

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, an early-stage pre-implantation embryo. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4–5 days post fertilization, at which time they consist of 50–150 cells. Isolating the inner cell mass (embryoblast) using immunosurgery results in destruction of the blastocyst, a process which raises ethical issues, including whether or not embryos at the pre-implantation stage have the same moral considerations as embryos in the post-implantation stage of development.

Myc is a family of regulator genes and proto-oncogenes that code for transcription factors. The Myc family consists of three related human genes: c-myc (MYC), l-myc (MYCL), and n-myc (MYCN). c-myc was the first gene to be discovered in this family, due to homology with the viral gene v-myc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CD19</span> Biomarker for B cell lineage

B-lymphocyte antigen CD19, also known as CD19 molecule, B-Lymphocyte Surface Antigen B4, T-Cell Surface Antigen Leu-12 and CVID3 is a transmembrane protein that in humans is encoded by the gene CD19. In humans, CD19 is expressed in all B lineage cells. Contrary to some early doubts, human plasma cells do express CD19, as confirmed by others. CD19 plays two major roles in human B cells: on the one hand, it acts as an adaptor protein to recruit cytoplasmic signaling proteins to the membrane; on the other, it works within the CD19/CD21 complex to decrease the threshold for B cell receptor signaling pathways. Due to its presence on all B cells, it is a biomarker for B lymphocyte development, lymphoma diagnosis and can be utilized as a target for leukemia immunotherapies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alpha-enolase</span> Protein-coding gene in Homo sapiens

Enolase 1 (ENO1), more commonly known as alpha-enolase, is a glycolytic enzyme expressed in most tissues, one of the isozymes of enolase. Each isoenzyme is a homodimer composed of 2 alpha, 2 gamma, or 2 beta subunits, and functions as a glycolytic enzyme. Alpha-enolase, in addition, functions as a structural lens protein (tau-crystallin) in the monomeric form. Alternative splicing of this gene results in a shorter isoform that has been shown to bind to the c-myc promoter and function as a tumor suppressor. Several pseudogenes have been identified, including one on the long arm of chromosome 1. Alpha-enolase has also been identified as an autoantigen in Hashimoto encephalopathy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Induced pluripotent stem cell</span> Pluripotent stem cell generated directly from a somatic cell

Induced pluripotent stem cells are a type of pluripotent stem cell that can be generated directly from a somatic cell. The iPSC technology was pioneered by Shinya Yamanaka and Kazutoshi Takahashi in Kyoto, Japan, who together showed in 2006 that the introduction of four specific genes, collectively known as Yamanaka factors, encoding transcription factors could convert somatic cells into pluripotent stem cells. Shinya Yamanaka was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize along with Sir John Gurdon "for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MYC</span> Protein-coding gene in the species Homo sapiens

MYC proto-oncogene, bHLH transcription factor is a protein that in humans is encoded by the MYC gene which is a member of the myc family of transcription factors. The protein contains basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) structural motif.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NDRG1</span> Protein-coding gene in the species Homo sapiens

Protein NDRG1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the NDRG1 gene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PIM1</span> Protein-coding gene in the species Homo sapiens

Proto-oncogene serine/threonine-protein kinase Pim-1 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the PIM1 gene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TBX3</span> Protein-coding gene in the species Homo sapiens

T-box transcription factor TBX3 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the TBX3 gene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glypican 2</span> Protein-coding gene in the species Homo sapiens

Glypican 2 (GPC2), also known cerebroglycan, is a protein which in humans is encoded by the GPC2 gene. The GPC2 gene is at locus 7q22.1 and encodes for a 579 amino acid protein. The C-terminus of GPC2 has the GPI attachment site, at G554, and the N-terminus encodes a signal peptide, from M1 to S24. Multiple GPC2 mRNA transcripts have been identified. GPC2-201 is the isoform overexpressed in pediatric cancers. Tumor-associated exon 3 of GPC2 shows the lowest expression in normal tissues compared with other exons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KIAA1524</span> Protein-coding gene in the species Homo sapiens

Protein CIP2A also known as cancerous inhibitor of PP2A (CIP2A) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the KIAA1524 gene.

mir-22

In molecular biology mir-22 microRNA is a short RNA molecule. MicroRNAs are an abundant class of molecules, approximately 22 nucleotides in length, which can post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression by binding to the 3' UTR of mRNAs expressed in a cell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan Massagué</span> Spanish biologist

Joan Massagué, is a Spanish biologist and the current director of the Sloan Kettering Institute at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He is also an internationally recognized leader in the study of both cancer metastasis and growth factors that regulate cell behavior, as well as a professor at the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences.

Gerard Ian Evan FRS, FMedSci is a British biologist and, since May 2022, Professor of Cancer Biology at King's College London and a principal group leader in the Francis Crick Institute. Prior to this he was Sir William Dunn Professor and Head of Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge (2009-2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">María Blasco Marhuenda</span> Spanish scientist

María Antonia Blasco Marhuenda, known as María Blasco, is a Spanish molecular biologist. She is the current director of the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre.

AI-10-49 is a small molecule inhibitor of leukemic oncoprotein CBFβ-SMHHC developed by the laboratory of John Bushweller with efficacy demonstrated by the laboratories of Lucio H. Castilla and Monica Guzman. AI-10-49 allosterically binds to CBFβ-SMMHC and disrupts protein-protein interaction between CBFβ-SMMHC and tumor suppressor RUNX1. This inhibitor is under development as an anti-leukemic drug.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SOM Biotech</span>

SOM Innovation Biotech, S.A., is a private pharmaceutical company focused on the accelerated discovery and development of therapies for orphan diseases through a proprietary artificial intelligence-based drug discovery technology and developing strategic partnerships with major research centers and pharmaceutical companies. The company was founded in 2009 in Barcelona, Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Núria López Bigas</span> Researcher on computational cancer genomics

Núria López Bigas is a Spanish biologist and research professor with expertise in medical genetics, computational biology, and bioinformatics. She is an ICREA professor at Pompeu Fabra University and she also leads the Biomedical Genomics Research Group at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine in Barcelona, Spain. Her research is focused on developing computational approaches to investigate cancer genomes.

References

  1. ↑ "ICREA". www.icrea.cat. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
  2. 1 2 Interviews, Clara Rodríguez Fernández-09/05/2019 4 mins- (2019-05-09). "A 20-Year Journey to Nail Down an Undruggable Cancer Target". Labiotech.eu. Retrieved 2019-11-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. 1 2 "La mujer que quiere (y va a intentar) acabar con el cáncer". Diario Sur (in Spanish). 2018-12-08. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
  4. ↑ Whitfield, Jonathan; Soucek, Laura (2019-08-01). "Editorial overview: Peptides in cancer". Current Opinion in Pharmacology. 47: iii–v. doi:10.1016/j.coph.2019.06.001. ISSN   1471-4892. PMC   6768800 . PMID   31257021.
  5. ↑ peptomyc_2015. "Team". Peptomyc (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2019-11-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. 1 2 3 4 "El inhibidor de Myc, Omomyc, entra en la recta final previa al ensayo clínico". Vall d'Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus (in Spanish). 2019-10-04. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
  7. ↑ "Laura Soucek: "Starting up a company was the most logical decision to translate 20 years of research into a real therapeutic opportunity" | Biocat". www.biocat.cat. Retrieved 2019-11-05.
  8. 1 2 "Laura Soucek: "Con el fármaco matamos al cáncer desde dentro y desde fuera"". Redacción Médica (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-11-04.
  9. ↑ "Así funciona el Omomyc, el nuevo fármaco contra el cáncer". La Vanguardia. 2019-03-26. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
  10. ↑ "Pushing MYC inhibition closer to the clinic". medicalxpress.com. Retrieved 2019-11-05.
  11. ↑ "Individuals make innovation a reality". The Parliament Magazine. 2018-11-26. Retrieved 2019-11-05.
  12. ↑ "FC Barcelona Premieres New Jersey in Spot With Music by Area21: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-11-05.
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