Pancreatic Cancer Summer Course

Executive Director of the Pancreatic Cancer Association (ACANPAN), an organization she led for 10 years, and a staunch advocate for cancer patients.

Elisa Espinet is a chemist and holds a Ph.D. in Biomedicine, with a career focused on the study of cancer and the role of the tumor microenvironment. After completing her Ph.D. on colorectal cancer at IRB Barcelona, she conducted her postdoctoral research in Germany (DKFZ and Hi-STEM), where she specialized in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Navarra and completed his postdoctoral training at CIMA and Stanford University.

She holds a Ph.D. in Cell Biology from the University of Alcalá. She completed several postdoctoral fellowships at the Pasteur Institute (Paris), IDIBELL (Barcelona), and CNIO (Madrid) before being appointed as an associate professor and group leader at the Barts Cancer Institute (London) from 2014 to 2017. Since 2017, she has been a Miguel Servet Research Fellow at the IIS Aragón, where she leads the Metabolism and Tumor Stem Cells research group.

Carmen Guerra, a pharmacist from the UCM, earned her Ph.D. in November 1994 from the same university, after conducting research on the molecular biology of brown adipose tissue in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the School of Pharmacy (UCM), under the supervision of Dr. Margarita Fernández and Dr. Manuel Benito. She subsequently completed her postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Leslie P. Kozak (The Jackson Laboratory, Maine, USA), where she specialized in genetic studies and the development of genetically modified mouse models for obesity research.

Julie Earl holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom (2003). She is a principal investigator at the Ramón y Cajal Health Research Institute (IRYCIS). Her primary research focuses on the early detection of pancreatic cancer in high-risk groups and on the identification and validation of biomarkers for early diagnosis. In addition, she uses liquid biopsy techniques to determine treatment response and serves as coordinator of the in vitro section within the tumor models area of the IRYCIS Biomodels and Biobank platform.

Susana García Silva holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and has dedicated her research career to the study of tumor progression. She completed her doctoral thesis at the Institute of Biomedical Research (IIBM, CSIC-UAM) in Madrid, where she investigated the mechanisms of antagonistic interaction between the Ras oncogene pathway and nuclear receptors.

She holds a Bachelor of Medicine from the Complutense University of Madrid, is a specialist in Medical Oncology, and holds a Ph.D. in Health Sciences from the University of Alcalá. She provides patient care in the Digestive Tumors Unit at Ramón y Cajal Hospital, with a special focus on biliopancreatic pathology. She is a member of the BIOPAC group, where she participates in clinical and translational research on biomarkers, liquid biopsy, and preclinical models focused on personalized cancer medicine.

Ignacio Ruz Caracuel is a specialist in Pathological Anatomy at Ramón y Cajal University Hospital, focusing on endocrine and gastrointestinal pathology. He directs the Unit of Microscopy, Histology, and Comparative Pathology at the Ramón y Cajal Institute for Health Research. He has collaborated on national and international projects related to pancreatic cancer.