In the de la Puente Lab, we are fully committed to having fun while doing cool science. See below what we have been up to lately.
2025
June
This summer, we welcome again Karla Arcelay Garcia in the de la Puente as returner to the SPUR program. Looking forward to the amazing discoveries she will bring to the lab
May
Dr. Pilar de la Puente has received an R37 MERIT Award from the National Institutes of Health—an honor only given to researchers whose grant proposals are considered outstanding by NIH reviewers.
She was awarded $2.75 million for her project, “Elucidating spatiotemporal dynamics of nascent extracellular matrix in response to platinum treatment in ovarian cancer,” which will explore how the tumor environment changes during treatment using tissue engineering and metabolic labeling approaches.
Today, on #WorldOvarianCancerDay, the delaPuenteLab stands with patients, families, and advocates—driven by science, our lab is committed to advancing discoveries that bring hope and improve outcomes in ovarian cancer, we are not stopping! So proud of these strong ladies #OvarianCancerAwareness #CancerResearch #WomenInSTEM
April
Excited to host 3 interns this spring. Taylor Woolley and Kylee McDaniel from Mount Marty University and Anita Saakyan as High School intern. Proud of their great work
March
Congratulations to the de la Puente Lab team, they got 1st place on the chemical lab labeling challenge organized by the Sanford Research safety committee! Enjoy your yummy prizes and thanks for your “safe” and hard work
Excited to quick start the Meet a Researcher Event. Interested to learn what we do in the lab and do a hands-on activity? Register and Join us! Open to the public. Thanks to American Cancer Society and Sanford Research for the support!
Dr. Maria Gonzalez Porras and Dr. de la Puente are excited to organize the next ASMB e-symposia focused on the “Intersection of Women’s Health and the ECM” on March 26. Short talks will be selected from abstracts. Join us #womenshealth #ECM #ASMB
February
Happy #International Day of Women and Girls in Science. This year, I was asked to record a video to talk about what a scientist do and bring some contemporary role models to elementary school kids in my home country, Spain. Cute flyer of what they learn (in Spanish)
I also want to take this opportunity to highlight our 100% women-led lab. I am inspired daily by each of these ladies. Simona Plesselova, Kristin Calar, Hailey Axemaker, and Amrita Bhagia, you are all strong role models.
Promote, empower, highlight, and support women and girls to pursue careers in science. #WomenInSTEM
Feb 7, we stand together to raise #HeartHealthAwareness join in by wearing red! We also celebrate all #ECMatrix science as it is vital research that deepens our understanding of #Women’s No. 1 killer worldwide. Prioritize #WomensHeartHealth & make a difference!
January
Congratulations to MD/PhD student Amrita Bhagia. She has been awarded an Independent Research Award for her work on microfluidics from University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine #microfluidics #delapuentelab #proudPI
