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Jlenia Guarnerio, Ph.D., feels a sense of urgency when it comes to the work she and her fellow researchers at MD Anderson do.  

¡°We know that research doesn¡¯t truly end until cancer is no longer a threat to patients' lives,¡± she says. 

Guarnerio runs a lab focused on developing a better understanding of the interactions between tumor cells and the surrounding normal cells that together make up the microenvironment as the tumors grow and progress. They use cutting-edge technologies like single-cell RNA sequencing, a technique that measures the complete set of gene expression within individual cells, and spatial transcriptomics, a method researchers use to better understand gene expression patterns. 

Their goal is to develop innovative cancer therapies that target tumor cells and reprogram the tumor microenvironment to better fight cancer.  

Uncovering how cancer begins

Guarnerio became fascinated by genes, RNA and proteins in school. She loved learning about the ways these incredibly small entities contributed to the structure and function of the human body. She wanted to understand how these elements work together to form such a complex and functional system. 

¡°The more I learned, the more curious I became, and ultimately, that curiosity evolved into a passion. I was also very fortunate early on in my career to work alongside some incredibly motivated and inspiring mentors and colleagues,¡± she says. ¡°Their enthusiasm about science was contagious. Being in a lab environment where everyone was so deeply invested in their experiments, so focused on discovery, and yet managed to build genuine friendships, this was deeply motivating. It confirmed that science could be both intellectually stimulating and personally fulfilling.¡±&²Ô²ú²õ±è;&²Ô²ú²õ±è;

As she continued her studies in biology, she eventually found her way to cancer research. 

¡°I wanted to uncover how cancer begins, how it develops and what changes occur within cells that allow them to become malignant. I was especially interested in understanding the key features that make cancer so resilient ¡ª and more importantly, how we can intervene and block these processes,¡± she says.  

Guarnerio studied cancer research in her home country of Italy before coming to Boston, then Los Angeles, and then, finally, to MD Anderson. Here, Guarnerio and her team work closely with other labs, oncologists and surgeons to develop a deeper understanding of sarcoma that will hopefully one day lead to new treatments. 

¡°MD Anderson stood out to me because of its unparalleled integration between basic science and clinical departments. This synergy is especially important when working on rare tumors,¡± she says. ¡°There is a strong sense of collegiality and a shared understanding that groundbreaking discoveries only happen when we work together as a team. The culture here is not individualistic. People genuinely want to help each other, to share ideas and to collaborate toward a common goal.¡± 

What¡¯s next: Understanding drug resistance

Now, Guarnerio is turning her attention to what she considers to be one of the biggest challenges facing today¡¯s cancer researchers: drug resistance.  

Similar to how certain bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics, cancer cells may become tolerant of chemotherapy or targeted therapies and start to grow again, due to DNA mutations or metabolic changes.  

¡°My goal moving forward is to continue uncovering these resistance pathways and to design new strategies that can effectively counteract them,¡± she says. ¡°My hope is to take the discoveries we are making in the lab and move them closer to real-world applications, specifically into clinical trials.¡±&²Ô²ú²õ±è;&²Ô²ú²õ±è;