Lab Members

Dr. Escobar-Hoyos obtained her master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences at the Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia. As a Fulbright Scholar, she pursued a Ph.D. in Cancer Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology at Stony Brook University mentored by Dr. Kenneth Shroyer. She then completed her postdoctoral training at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center co-mentored by Drs. Steven Leach and Omar Abdel-Wahab. In 2020, Dr. Escobar-Hoyos joined the Department of Therapeutic Radiology at Yale as an Assistant Professor.The overarching goal of Dr. Escobar-Hoyos' lab is to cure pancreatic and lung cancers. Specifically, the team seeks to understand and target somatic mutations, and aberrant RNA processing in these tumors to  develop of novel therapies.

My research focuses on identifying and therapeutically exploiting non-mutational vulnerabilities in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), one of the most lethal and treatment-resistant malignancies. I aim to integrate mechanistic studies of tumor-intrinsic dependencies, particularly dysregulated splicing, with immune-based strategies to develop novel RNA-based and immunotherapeutic approaches for aggressive cancers.

I am a microbiologist and immunologist with over a decade of training in host–pathogen interactions and molecular immunology. My doctoral work uncovered how microbial virulence factors activate inflammatory responses in macrophages, providing insight into mechanisms that may be leveraged for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Building on this foundation, my research program focuses on understanding how immune regulation intersects with tumor biology in pancreatic cancer, a disease marked by profound therapeutic resistance and limited response to current immunotherapies. I am broadly interested in how both genetic and non-mutational mechanisms shape immune recognition and disease progression, with the goal of identifying new avenues for therapeutic intervention.

Matthew is a first-year graduate student at Yale University in the Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry department. His previous work focused on secondary structural modeling of long noncoding RNAs. Currently, he is investigating how alternative RNA splicing contributes to lung adenocarcinomas.

Saúl Rojas Sánchez, Ph.D., is an Associate Research Scientist at the Yale School of Public Health in the Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases department. He received a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Experimental Biology and Biomedicine from the National Autonomous University of Mexico as part of the doctoral program of the Postgraduate School in Biological Sciences. During his undergraduate and graduate studies his research focused on the characterization of the specific DNA sequences responsible for promoting transcription of the U2 small nuclear RNA in the trypanosomatid parasite Leishmania major, which causes the disease known as leishmaniasis. The current studies of Dr. Saúl, conducted in the laboratory of Dr. Christian Tschudi, are focused toward understanding the molecular mechanisms causing gain of infectivity and quiescence in the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei, the etiological agent of human and animal African trypanosomiasis.

Deanne Yugawa is currently pursuing an M.D./Ph.D. at the Yale School of Medicine. She graduated from the University of Utah with degrees in Biology (with Honors) and Economics. During her undergraduate career, Deanne completed internships at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Hawaii Pathologists' Laboratory, and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) at HHS. Deanne's past research focused on the role of Ptf1a (p48) in pancreatic cancer initiation. She is currently a member of the lab of Luisa Escobar-Hoyos where she studies the role of RNA splicing in pancreatic cancer.  In her free time, she enjoys reading mystery novels, exploring Japan, and going home to Hawaii.Fun Fact About Me: I never saw snow until college, but ended up living in a city where the snow was often taller than me.