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Draft:Alicia López Bruzos

Alicia L. (López) Bruzos
Alicia L. Bruzos in the marine station in 2024
Born1993 (age 31–32)
Lugo
NationalitySpanish
Alma materAutonomous University of Barcelona
University of Santiago de Compostela
AwardsFor Women In Science Young Talents. Fondation L’Oréal and UNESCO, France (2024).
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of Caen Normandy
University College London
Universidade de Santiago de Compostela
ThesisEvolution of Bivalve Transmissible Cancers (2022)
Doctoral advisorSeila Díaz

  Alicia L. Bruzos (born March 29, 1993, in Lugo) is a Spanish geneticist and researcher in marine biology and genetics at the Université de Caen Normandie[1]. Her research focuses on transmissible cancers in bivalves.

Education and scientific career

She earned a degree in biology from the University of Santiago de Compostela in 2015, followed by a master's in bioinformatics from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. In 2022, she completed her PhD in molecular medicine at the University of Santiago de Compostela, where she studied the genetic basis of contagious marine metastases[2].

After her PhD, she conducted postdoctoral research at The Francis Crick Institute and University College London[3]. In 2023, she was awarded a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship to continue her research at the University of Caen Normandy, where she currently works[4].

Research

Diagnosis of transmissible cancer on the warty venus clam.

Alicia L. Bruzos studies transmissible cancers in bivalve mollusks, a rare form of cancer in which tumor cells spread between individuals. Her work aims to understand the genetic and evolutionary mechanisms that enable the transmission and persistence of these cancers, drawing parallels with human metastasis.

She has contributed to several major discoveries in human cancer genomics[5], including genomic instability caused by LINE-1 retrotransposons[6], chromosomal instability induced by the hepatitis B virus in hepatocellular carcinoma[7], and the identification of BRAF fusion genes involved in congenital melanocytic nevi[8].

Her research on transmissible cancers in bivalves includes the discovery of a novel contagious cancer affecting multiple clam species[9], the development of a multiplex PCR assay to detect two transmissible cancer lineages in cockles[10], and the characterization of mechanisms enabling their persistence, such as horizontal mitochondrial DNA transfer and high genomic instability, including whole-genome duplication[11].

Her work, at the intersection of cancer research, evolution, and marine ecology, suggests that these cancers may be more widespread in marine environments than previously thought, with significant implications for the health of coastal ecosystems and bivalve populations exploited for fisheries and aquaculture.

Distinctions

In 2024, Alicia L. Bruzos received the Jeunes Talents L'Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science award in recognition of her contributions to research on transmissible cancers in bivalves. The award was presented to her in October at the Académie des Sciences in Paris [12][13].

References

  1. ^ Une chercheuse de Luc-sur-Mer récompensée pour ces recherches sur les organismes marins. 2024-10-09. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
  2. ^ "Cette scientifique installée en Normandie a reçu un prix qui « peut tout changer »". Ouest-France.fr (in French). 2024-10-08. Archived from the original on 2024-10-10. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
  3. ^ Böhm, Ulrike (2023-09-14). "Women in Research #LINO23: Alicia L. Bruzos". Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
  4. ^ "Une distinction pour une jeune chercheuse installée dans le Calvados". Saooti - Sweet FM Normandie (in French). Retrieved 2025-02-21.
  5. ^ The ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes Consortium (February 2020). "Pan-cancer analysis of whole genomes". Nature. 578 (7793): 82–93. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-1969-6. ISSN 1476-4687. PMC 7025898. PMID 32025007.
  6. ^ Rodriguez-Martin, B; Garcia-Souto, D, EG; Baez-Ortega, A; Zamora, J (March 2020). "Pan-cancer analysis of whole genomes identifies driver rearrangements promoted by LINE-1 retrotransposition". Nature Genetics. 52 (3): 306–319. doi:10.1038/s41588-019-0562-0. ISSN 1546-1718. PMC 7058536. PMID 32024998.
  7. ^ Álvarez, EG; Baez-Ortega, A, J; Otero, P; Jolly, C (2021-11-25). "Aberrant integration of Hepatitis B virus DNA promotes major restructuring of human hepatocellular carcinoma genome architecture". Nature Communications. 12 (1): 6910. doi:10.1038/s41467-021-26805-8. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 8617174. PMID 34824211.
  8. ^ Barberan-Martin, S; Polubothu, S; Bruzos, AL; Kelly, Gavin (March 2024). "Mosaic BRAF Fusions Are a Recurrent Cause of Congenital Melanocytic Nevi Targetable by MAPK Pathway Inhibition". Journal of Investigative Dermatology. 144 (3): 593–600.e7. doi:10.1016/j.jid.2023.06.213. ISSN 0022-202X. PMID 37716647. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
  9. ^ Garcia, D; Bruzos, AL; Diaz, S; Rocha, S (2022-01-18). "Mitochondrial genome sequencing of marine leukaemias reveals cancer contagion between clam species in the Seas of Southern Europe". eLife. 11: e66946. doi:10.7554/eLife.66946. ISSN 2050-084X. PMC 8765752. PMID 35040778.
  10. ^ Santamarina, M; Bruzos, AL; Pequeño-Valtierra, A; Rodríguez-Castro, J (2024-11-01). "Novel PCR assay for the identification of two transmissible cancers in Cerastoderma edule". Journal of Invertebrate Pathology. 207: 108232. doi:10.1016/j.jip.2024.108232. ISSN 0022-2011. PMID 39522939. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
  11. ^ Bruzos, AL; Santamarina, M; García, D; Díaz, S (November 2023). "Somatic evolution of marine transmissible leukemias in the common cockle, Cerastoderma edule". Nature Cancer. 4 (11): 1575–1591. doi:10.1038/s43018-023-00641-9. ISSN 2662-1347. PMID 37783803. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
  12. ^ à 08h15, Par Esteban Pinel Le 12 octobre 2024 (2024-10-12). "Calvados : Alicia L. Bruzos étudie les cancers des coquillages pour mieux comprendre ceux des humains". leparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved 2025-02-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ "Alicia L. Bruzos, lauréate du Prix "Jeunes talents" 2024 de la Fondation L'Oréal France - Unesco". www.echosciences-normandie.fr. Retrieved 2025-02-21.


Category:Women geneticists Category:21st-century women scientists Category:Living people Category:1993 births Category:Autonomous University of Barcelona alumni Category:University of Santiago de Compostela alumni Category:Biologists Category:Women in science and technology Category:Galicia (Spain)

Quelle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:Alicia_L%C3%B3pez_Bruzos