Adriana Ponton-Almodovar , Ph.D.

Biography

Adriana Ponton-Almodovar, Ph.D. earned her doctoral degree in Pharmacology and Toxicology from Michigan State University, where she focused her research on ovarian cancer chemoresistance. Specifically, how cancer cells adapt their metabolism in response to chemotherapy and the mechanism that drives cancer progression. Adriana is committed to translating her findings into the clinic, which has led her to focus on FDA drug repurposing. She is a postdoctoral scholar in Dr. Sachi Horibata's laboratory in the Precision Health Program and the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. Her current work focuses on investigating existing medications that could be effective in treating ovarian cancer and improving chemotherapy options for this challenging disease. Her doctoral dissertation research was supported by the NIH Integrative Pharmacological Sciences Training Program (IPSTP; T32GM142521, 2022-2024), the Aitch Foundation Fellowship (2024-2025), and the Barnett Rosenberg Endowed Research Assistantship in Biological Sciences (2025-2026). As an undergraduate at the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico, she conducted research as a Junior Research Associate of the NIH Puerto Rico IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE; P20GM103475). She also completed an NIH Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP; R25GM121220) at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School.