Alejandro Corvalan
I am a full-time medical researcher at Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile. My laboratory is involved in translational cancer research at basic, clinical and population levels. We focus primarily on cancer epigenetics with an emphasis on the discovery and validation of tumor suppressor genes inactivated by DNA methylation and/or microRNAs. These discoveries act as a potential biomarkers for the early diagnosis of cancer, monitoring treatment response and developing new treatments. Through these approaches, my research aims to develop novel screening tests for the early detection of cancer based on circulating tumor nucleic acids in plasma. Additionally my laboratory has a strong interest in cancer systems biology, specifically exploring cancer heterogeneity through a data-mining approach.