Advancing Cancer Research Through Innovation: Dr. Emily Esquea’s Journey From Lab To Real-world Impact - Stories Of Impact Series

Drexel Applied Innovation is dedicated to expanding the impact of Drexel research through technology transfer. Drexel innovators are achieving incredible, inspiring feats across campus; the aim of this series is to showcase the research being conducted by these innovators and demonstrate how that research is being implemented to create real-world impact, thereby impacting the broader Drexel innovation community and beyond.

As the second installment of the Stories of Impact series, we spoke with Emily Esquea, Drexel University College of Medicine double Drexel alumni, with a MS and PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Genetics. She is the first recipient of Drexel Applied Innovation's inaugural Excellence in Expanding the Impact of Research Award at the Graduate Student Excellence Day 2024, nominated by faculty mentor, Dr. Mauricio Reginato, Professor and Chair and Director of the Graduate Program in Cancer Biology and Program Director, Translational and Cellular Oncology Program at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center (SKCC) Research Consortium at Thomas Jefferson University.

Below are excerpts from Emily’s nomination for the Excellence in Expanding the Impact of Research award, written by Dr. Reginato, and an interview with Emily on her work’s impact.

Can you please provide a general overview of the innovation you are working on?

“Treating cancers in the brain is difficult since the brain has a protective barrier that keeps many cancer-fighting drugs from reaching the brain. The diagnosis of breast cancer brain metastasis is devastating as nearly all patients die within 1 year of diagnosis. Thus, new treatments are desperately needed. Emily has identified and tested new drugs that target acetate metabolism and can penetrate the brain barrier and block a breast cancer brain metastatic metabolic adaptation that leads to killing these cancer cells in pre-clinical animal models.”

E: When I applied to grad school, I was interested in aging and the brain. There is a history of dementia in my family, so I was really interested in brain research. I learned Dr. Reginato’s lab was getting into brain tumors and doing in-vivo brain injections, which I was excited to learn from. I ended up loving mice work, which can be hit or miss. I loved seeing my science in real time and real life; that's how I decided to join the lab.

Our lab is focusing on studying triple-negative breast cancer brain metastasis, including an innovative process of developing brain permeable inhibitors of a protein that is elevated in brain tumors but not in healthy brain tissue. 

How did you realize that this would have applications beyond the lab? Was there a turning point?

E: It meant a lot when Dr. Reginato asked me to present my research in Spanish at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson, which was my first language, though I had never presented research in Spanish before. This partnership with Jefferson and the outreach of teaching the Hispanic community about cancer was really important.

We also had patients from Jefferson, who had gone through different treatments, come to our lab to express their gratitude. One patient was on a clinical trial drug, who said, “I just want to learn what researchers do because it's truly keeping me alive, and I'm so grateful.” You come into the lab like its work until you see the actual people you are affecting, and you realize it is so much more than just work.

As you transitioned towards the applications of your innovations, did you discover new resources available to support that work?

“These drugs tested and validated by Emily have been patented. It has also led to funding by the Coulter Foundation to help find more stable and potent drugs that we can then find commercial partners to license them for future development. We plan to move these drugs into clinical trials with clinical colleagues at Thomas Jefferson University to test in patients with breast cancer brain metastasis.

We are excited to continue to discuss with commercial companies our new compounds to perhaps treat other cancers. We have learned that very likely these drugs may work in other cancers that metastasize to the brain including melanoma, and lung cancers and thus have potentially large market and bigger global impact.”

E: We also had a lot of collaborators. Labs specialize in different techniques, so we worked closely with Dr. Alexej Dick and Dr. Joris Beld at Drexel and Dr. Nicole Simone at SKCC. We also have another collaboration with Temple University.

Innovations can take a long time to have an impact. How were you able to remain motivated and focused on your mission?

E: The small victories keep me motivated, as well as being able to present research at the smaller scale – posters at Discovery Day, speaking at Jefferson, and conferences. Having good results in the lab day-to-day and turning that into a full story outside of the lab to engage people who ask interesting questions and help you network. That helps me get through the process.

Also, Dr. Reginato is one of the most supportive people you will ever meet. I am one of his twelve graduate students, all of whom still come back and stay in touch. He truly sets you up for success. If he finds a paper that could help your research that day, he’ll give it to you. If he finds a conference you could benefit from, he’ll send it to you. I meet with him weekly. He is here in the lab every single day. It doesn’t matter if there is snow or a hurricane... He's here 8am-6pm with an open door every day. His love of science truly makes you want to work hard.

What excites you the most about translating research?

E: I am most excited about how far this could go. We have lots of meetings about how the drug is working and its broader implications. One of the things I wrote about in my thesis in the future directions is testing this in other metastatic tumors and other solid tumors. Just seeing how much more this drug can do is exciting.

As a first-generation college student, my parents could offer little guidance when it came to academics. However, they did instill in me that successes had to be earned with grit and determination. This journey has pushed me to grow as a scientist, mentor, and as a person. My graduate work has signified a gratifying opportunity for me to challenge myself, acquire new skills and techniques, while pioneering new approaches to cancer therapy and it has inspired me to continue towards becoming an independent cancer researcher and having my own lab one day. I plan to continue this path and training in cancer research during my post-doctoral studies at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University in New York starting this Fall. I hope my journey motivates other women, especially Hispanic women who are significantly underrepresented in scientific communities.