Deanna Peperno

I am a third-year PhD candidate in the Molecular and Cellular Biology Program working in the Cancer Center under Dr. Christopher Clarke. My work focuses on dihydroceramide desaturase 1 (DES1) as a central driver of metastasis in breast cancer by promoting anchorage-independent survival and chemotherapy resistance. Under the guidance of my clinical mentor, Dr. Alison Stopeck, I will investigate DES1 expression in primary and metastatic human breast cancer tumors in relation to resistance to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.