Joaquín Araos Henríquez, PhD

I studied biochemistry at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. After completing my undergraduate degree, I was awarded an Erasmus Mundus Joint master’s degree scholarship to study at the International Master in Innovative Medicine (IMIM) programme. As part of the IMIM programme, I carried out a research project at Katja Breitkopf-Heinlein laboratory (Heidelberg University) focusing on the role of the BMP-9 signalling pathway on the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition of hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Later, I joined the laboratory of Theresa Vincent (Uppsala University) for a research project where I investigated the role of ribosome biogenesis on proneural-to-mesenchymal transition of glioblastoma cells.

I was awarded the Harding Distinguished Postgraduate scholarship to pursue my doctoral studies at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute under the supervision of Dr Giulia Biffi. My doctoral project focused on characterising the impact of ageing on the malignant-to-stromal crosstalk in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

I am currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the laboratory of Daniel Muñoz-Espín in the Early Cancer Institute (Department of Oncology, University of Cambridge). I aim to dissect the molecular mechanisms by which ageing impacts lung cancer and how this shapes tumour initiation and progression. I have a particular interest in understanding the role of senescent cells within the human lung cancer microenvironment. My goal is to identify strategies to pharmacologically eliminate senescent cells and fight age-related diseases of the lung.

Outside of the lab, I enjoy playing and listening to music, photography and trying new cooking recipes.