Marina Pasca Di Magliano

Marina Pasca Di Magliano, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, General Surgery
Associate Chair of Research, Department of Surgery
Accepting Students?
Yes

Biography

Dr. Pasca di Magliano is Professor of Surgery and Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology. In addition, Dr. Pasca di Magliano serves as Admissions Chair for the Cancer Biology graduate Program and is a member of the Steering Committee. Dr. Pasca di Magliano earned her B.S. at the University of Napoli in Italy and her Ph.D. at the Institute for Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna, Austria. Dr. Pasca di Magliano completed her postdoctoral training at the University of California Diabetes Center in San Francisco, working on embryonic signaling pathways that are inappropriately activated in pancreatic cancer and drive disease progression. Currently, her laboratory studies the regulation and role of the tumor microenvironment in pancreatic cancer.

Research Interests

Our laboratory investigates the formation and progression of pancreatic cancer, one of the most lethal human malignancies. We study embryonic signaling pathways, such as Hedgehog and Wnt, which are activated during pancreatic carcinogenesis. The Hedgehog signaling pathway is not active in healthy adult pancreas. However, in pre-malignant lesions and in invasive pancreatic cancer Hedgehog signaling becomes activated via overexpression of one of the ligands, Sonic Hedgehog (Shh).