Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Laureano de la Vega is a biochemist graduate from the University of Cordoba (Spain), he finished his PhD in Biochemistry in 2007 obtaining the highest degree, Summa Cum Laude, for his work investigating the molecular mechanisms regulating HIV latency. Following this, he moved to Giessen (Germany) to join the team of Prof. Lienhard Schmitz as a postdoctoral researcher from 2007 to 2013. During that time his research was focused on post-translational modifications of HIPK2, an important regulator of cell growth, cell death and differentiation. In 2013 he moved to Dundee where he started his own group focused on the regulation of stress response pathways in cancer.
Research interests
Stress Responses
Organisms need to be able to adapt to change in order to survive, and certain cellular programs (stress response pathways) have evolved to respond to a dynamic environment. Example of stress responses pathways include p53, NRF2, and HSF1 pathways. Stress responses are by definition acute, and their transient activation help normal cells to cope with cellular stresses. Interestingly, there is a large body of evidence showing that, in contrast to normal cells, cancer cells are constitutively under cellular stress (i.e. DNA damage/replication stress, proteotoxic stress, mitotic stress, metabolic stress, and oxidative stress) and they depend on the sustained activation of cytoprotective stress response pathways to survive.
The essential nature of the stress response pathways in cancer cells makes them attractive targets, and thus, a better understanding of how these pathways are regulated could help identify new ways to modulate stress responses to impair cancer cell survival. In that sense, our lab is focused in obtaining a detailed understanding of stress response pathways and their aberrations in cancer. For that, we are interested not only on key master regulators of stress responses (e.g. NRF2, HSF1 or P53) but as well in the upstream regulatory pathways that modulate their activity (i.e. upstream kinases).
Teaching
Laureano is the Science and Health Communication MSc Programme Lead, where he is also module manager for three modules; he also leads the level 4 Cancer Pharmacology and Treatment module within the Biomedical and Biological sciences courses.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Fingerprint
- 1 Similar Profiles
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
-
Establishment Of A Biobank Of Breast Cancer Organoids
King, S. (Investigator) & de la Vega, L. (Investigator)
1/11/23 → 31/12/25
Project: Research
-
Exploiting The Full Potential Of BACH1 As An Anti-Metastatic Target In Lung Cancer (Studentship)
Petty, R. (Investigator) & de la Vega, L. (Investigator)
Project: Research
-
Evaluation of the Therapeutic Potential of Pharmacological NRF2 Activation in Hepatic Fibrosis (PhD Studentship)
Dinkova-Kostova, A. (Investigator) & de la Vega, L. (Investigator)
Project: Research
-
BACH1 degraders for lung cancer
Ciulli, A. (Investigator), Masson, G. (Investigator) & de la Vega, L. (Investigator)
Project: Research
-
Targeting Tumour Cells with Hyperactive NRF2
de la Vega, L. (Investigator)
1/11/18 → 31/10/21
Project: Research
-
Identification of a BACH1 lung cancer signature: A novel tool for understanding BACH1 biology and identifying new inhibitors
Klenja Skudrinja, D., Walker, D., Ali, K. X., Higgins, M., Patel, A. A., Raj, D., Creelman, A., McDowall, C., Wenta, T., Larsson, E., Wiel, C., Sayin, V. I. (Lead / Corresponding author) & de la Vega, L. (Lead / Corresponding author), 13 Jan 2025, BioRxiv, 41 p.Research output: Working paper/Preprint › Preprint
-
Octyl itaconate enhances VSVΔ51 oncolytic virotherapy by multitarget inhibition of antiviral and inflammatory pathways
Kurmasheva, N., Said, A., Wong, B., Kinderman, P., Han, X., Rahimic, A. H. F., Kress, A., Carter-Timofte, M. E., Holm, E., van der Horst, D., Kollmann, C. F., Liu, Z., Wang, C., Hoang, H.-D., Kovalenko, E., Chrysopoulou, M., Twayana, K. S., Ottosen, R. N., Svenningsen, E. B. & Begnini, F. & 31 others, , 15 May 2024, In: Nature Communications. 15, 1, 28 p., 4096.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile8 Citations (Scopus)144 Downloads (Pure) -
Dual inhibition of HSF1 and DYRK2 impedes cancer progression
Tandon, V., Moreno, R., Allmeroth, K., Quinn, J., Wiley, S. E., Nicely, L. G., Denzel, M. S., Edwards, J., de la Vega, L. & Banerjee, S. (Lead / Corresponding author), Jan 2023, In: Bioscience Reports. 43, 1, 14 p., BSR20222102.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile8 Citations (Scopus)116 Downloads (Pure) -
Nrf2 depletion in the context of loss-of-function Keap1 leads to mitolysosome accumulation
Dayalan Naidu, S., Angelova, P. R., Knatko, E. V., Leonardi, C., Novak, M., de la Vega, L., Ganley, I. G., Abramov, A. Y. & Dinkova-Kostova, A. T. (Lead / Corresponding author), 1 Nov 2023, In: Free Radical Biology and Medicine. 208, p. 478-493 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Citations (Scopus)159 Downloads (Pure) -
A novel CDC25A/DYRK2 regulatory switch modulates cell cycle and survival
Lara-Chica, M., Correa-Sáez, A., Jiménez-Izquierdo, R., Garrido-Rodríguez, M., Ponce, F. J., Moreno, R., Morrison, K., Di Vona, C., Arató, K., Jiménez-Jiménez, C., Morrugares, R., Schmitz, M. L., de la Luna, S., de la Vega, L. & Calzado, M. A. (Lead / Corresponding author), Jan 2022, In: Cell Death and Differentiation. 29, p. 105-117 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile21 Citations (Scopus)136 Downloads (Pure)
Activities
-
The BACH1 pathway in lung cancer and its therapeutic potential
de la Vega, L. (Speaker)
7 Mar 2024Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
-
The BACH1 pathway in cancer and its therapeutic potential
de la Vega, L. (Speaker)
15 Nov 2023Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
-
PhD examination of Noor Abdulaziz A Alqurashi
Murdoch, C. (Examiner) & de la Vega, L. (Advisor)
4 Apr 2023Activity: Examination types › Examination
-
RSE Workshop: Developing Aberdeen’s Cancer Research Network
de la Vega, L. (Participant)
23 Apr 2023Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in workshop, seminar, course
-
Overview of a CRUK funded research laboratory
de la Vega, L. (Member)
7 Sept 2023Activity: Other activity types › Public engagement and outreach - public lecture/debate/seminar