Maralice Conacci-Sorrell, PhD

Liver cancer is a deadly disease. Even with new treatments, many patients do not live for many years after diagnosis. Our lab is studying ways to stop liver cancer cells from growing while causing less harm to healthy cells. Cancer cells grow and divide very quickly. To do this, they must make large amounts of proteins. Proteins are made by tiny structures inside cells called ribosomes. Because cancer cells grow so fast, they need many more ribosomes than normal cells. Our research focuses on finding ways to stop cancer cells from making ribosomes. Without enough ribosomes, cancer cells cannot make the proteins they need to grow and spread. We hope this work will lead to new treatments for liver cancer and other cancers. By targeting a process that cancer cells depend on more than healthy cells, we may be able to develop safer and more effective therapies.