Biology Professor Researching Breast Cancer

Biology Professor Researching Breast Cancer

By Rae Lynch

An error occurred while preparing your download

Carlos Luna Lopez's typical day in the lab looks a little different from others. Dark, cool and full of machinery like 3D bio printers, the lab is home to petri dishes full of cancerous cells. Inspired by one of his students, his lab cohort is studying breast cancer.

"Being in Dr. Luna's lab has been such a great experience. He's not only an amazing PI, but also a really great mentor," said Oscar Loyola Torres, a molecular and cellular biology student.

Dr. Luna, a biology professor at Cal State San Marcos, received his bachelor's in physics from Universidad de Sonora in Mexico and his Ph.D. in bioengineering from the University of Maryland. He decided to pursue his postdoctoral research closer to his parents who live in Mexico, which brought him to the University of California San Diego.

Dr. Luna always knew he wanted to pursue a career in the STEM field as his father is a mechanical engineer and his mother a nurse. During his Ph.D. studies, he joined the Summer Program in Neuroscience, Excellence and Success (SPINES) where he met a former CSUSM biology professor who further inspired his move to San Diego and his pursuit of a job at CSUSM.

Dr. Luna believes that finding a good balance between research and teaching is important. He explained that one of his biophysics professors would play soccer with his students and invite them to important seminars, creating a meaningful relationship with the students beyond just the research. So when he was told of the community between faculty and students at CSUSM, it felt like the right choice to apply.

Dr. Luna has taught upper division cellular and molecular biotechnology classes as well as bio statistics and bioengineering classes at CSUSM since 2017. He also occasionally teaches advanced molecular seminars, and currently he and his lab students are studying the effects of fat cells on breast cancer growth.

The tests examine how lipid metabolism is driving parts of cancer growth. Lipid metabolism is the process of creating or breaking down lipids (fats) to help with energy storage, structural cell membrane support and cell signaling. Since breast tissue is full of lipids, it creates the perfect environment for cancer cells to thrive utilizing these functions to their advantage.

Dr. Luna and his students monitor the interactions between cancer cells and two different types of fat cells, white and brown adipocytes. These cells work to store energy, produce hormones and regulate body temperature, all basic functions crucial to the success of the human body.

Utilizing his background in engineering, Dr. Luna and his students built a device that creates spheroids, 3D circular clusters of cells. The spheroid is made of biomaterials replicating human tissue, allowing the students to get the most accurate results from their cancer research.

"There are so many things I get to learn from him and the lab that are helping me grow as both a student and a future physician," Loyola Torres said.

Dr. Luna said this is only a portion of what their research encapsulates. Every time a new discovery is made it opens a door for further questioning, and the research continues.

"When you have something in your mind, and you get the chance and the resources to be able to put that into the world it's so exciting," Dr. Luna said.

Dr. Luna loves watching his students grow and be creative as it reminds him of when he was a kid. Not only does he get to exercise his own creativity, but he gets to bring his students along for the journey. Having watched some of them grow from first years to graduating Ph.D. students, the relationship Lopez has been able to create with his students makes his job all the more rewarding.

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

[email protected] | Office: 760-750-7314

Related Articles