Research Program and Theme
- Program: Cancer Engineering and Biological Systems
- Theme: Mechanistic and Quantitative Biology
Research Focus
Benita Katzenellenbogen’s research in cancer, endocrinology, and women’s health has focused on nuclear receptors, mainly estrogen receptors, and their mechanical, physiological, and integrative actions, aiming to improve the effectiveness of endocrine therapies in breast cancer. The Katzenellenbogen lab does basic and translational studies in breast cancer cells, preclinical human cancer models, and human tumor samples. It has identified factors associated with therapy resistance, aggressiveness, and early time to recurrence and their regulation in different breast cancer subtypes. They are interested in hormones and breast cancer and in mechanisms of sensitivity and resistance to cancer therapies, biomarker discovery, and improving cancer treatment effectiveness.