Name: Sienna Rocha
Hometown: Escondido
Lab: Towers Lab
Lab website: https://towers.salk.edu/
What do you study?
I am a research assistant in Dr. Towers Lab at the Salk Institute. I assist in various research projects where we are investigating the underlying mechanisms by which cancer cells resist autophagy inhibition to continue growth. To do this we use tools like gene editing in cancer cell lines to figure out the specific mechanisms cells use to become resistant to treatment.
Why is it important?
Cancer treatment often fails because cancer cells find ways to circumvent treatment and become resistant. Treating cancer is like playing chess. We need to think a few steps ahead and try to stop it before it’s next move. Our work is trying to figure out a cancer cell’s next move and if we can stop it treatments will be more effective.
What piqued your interest in science?
Jurassic Park! Watching the movie as a kid made me really interested in a career in science. Then I stuck with science because I realized I loved asking questions and learning how the body works.
What do you like about being a scientist?
Being a scientist allows me to find creative ways to get answers to any question I may have. In addition I love puzzles and science is a giant puzzle with a bunch of missing pieces. We have to generate the missing pieces based on the pieces around it.
What are 5 general vocabulary terms someone should know going into your field of science?
Gene, Protein, Cancer, DNA, RNA
What are 5 specific vocabulary terms someone should know about your research?
Persistor Cell, Autophagy, Mitochondrial-derived vesicles, Transport Proteins, Gene Knock-down