Name: Cali Horta
Hometown: Santa Clara, California
Hobbies: Running, hiking, traveling, reading
Lab: Dr. Jing Yang
Lab website: Yang Lab
What do you study?
I study breast cancer metastasis, which is the process where cancer cells in the breast travel to other parts of the body, such as the lung, bone and brain. The area surrounding the cancer cells in the breast becomes stiff, which is often how breast cancer is diagnosed. This stiffness produces signals that cause breast cancer cells to enter into the bloodstream and travel to distant sites and form secondary tumors.
Why is it important?
Studying breast cancer metastasis is an important area of research because once cancer cells leave the primary tumor site, it becomes much more difficult to treat and there is a decrease in patient survival. By understanding how breast cancer cells enter into the bloodstream, we can identify specific treatment targets. The goal of the treatment would be to prevent breast cancer cells from spreading from their primary site.
What piqued your interest in science?
Knowing family members and friends that have been diagnosed with cancer, I became interested in how science can help find treatments for cancer.
What do you like about being a scientist?
Being a scientist means you are making discoveries that no one has made before. The potential that the discoveries I make can better the lives of breast cancer patients is very fulfilling. I enjoy working as a team in the lab and also being a part of the larger scientific community.
What are 5 general vocabulary terms someone should know going into your field of science?
Protein, oncogene, organoids, cell invasion, microscopy
What are 5 specific vocabulary terms someone should know about your research?
Metastasis, mechanotransduction, microenvironment, epithethelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), extravasation