Gretel Torres

  • Pioli Lab '22

  • Post-doc, McLellan Lab, University of Texas at Austin

Gretel received her bachelor's in science from Rider University, where she was a Ronald E. McNair Scholar. She participated in NIH funded summer programs at UMass Medical School and presented research focused on humoral immunity in ovarian cancer at the American Association of Immunologist (AAI) as a junior in undergrad. Gretel was awarded the AAI Careers in Immunology Fellowship last year, and was among the first cohort of Guarini Diversity Fellows. Gretel's research focuses on the study of immunotherapeutic triterpenoid CDDO-Me for redirection of tumor associated macrophage (TAMs) activation in melanoma and ovarian cancer. Most immunotherapeutic approaches have had limited success on their own, partly due to the suppression of innate and adaptive immune responses by TAMs in the tumor microenvironment (TME). TAM redirection may relieve immunosuppression in the TME, providing both a means of directly inhibiting tumor growth and potentially enhancing the efficacy of additional targeted and immuno-therapies. Gretel enjoys playing with her cat and hanging out with friends.

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Selected Publications

  • Wrapp, D. DeVlieger, D. Corbett, K. Torres, G. Van Breedam, W. Roose, K. van Schie, L VIB-CMB COVID-19 Response Team, Hoffman, M. Pöhlman, S. Graham, B. Callewaert, N. Schepens, B. Saelens, X. McLellan, J. (2020). Structural Basis for Potent Neutralization of Betacoronaviruses by Single-domain Camelid Antibodies. Cell, 181. Doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.04.031  

    Ball, M., Bhandari, R., Torres, G., Martyanov, V., ElTanbouly, M., Archambault, K., Whitfield, M., Liby, K., Pioli, P. (2020). CDDO-Me Alters the Tumor Microenvironment in Estrogen Receptor Negative Breast Cancer. Nature-Scientific Reports, 10. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-63482-x.  

    Shabaneh, T., Molodtsov, A., Steinberg, S., Zhang, P., Torres, G., Mohamed, G., Boni, A., Curiel, T., Angeles, C., Turk, M.J. (2018). Oncogenic BRAFV600E governs regulatory T cell recruitment during melanoma tumorigenesis. Cancer Res, 78. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-18-0365