sara huerta phd

Sara Huerta-Yepez, PhD

Project Scientist

About

Career Goals: 

To cure cancer patients and make a lot of money in the process — but if the patients have limited financial resources, then not so much money.

Fun Fact about Me: 

I always wanted to be a dancer.

Education and Degree(s)

Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics. School of Medicine, UCLA

Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences. School of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico City, Mexico

M.Sc. in Biomedical Sciences. School of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico City, Mexico

Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical and Biological Chemistry. National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico City, Mexico

Honors and Awards

Assistant Research Scientist at UCLA and Chair of the Oncology Research Unit at the Federico Gómez Children’s Hospital in Mexico City. Her research focuses on tumor chemoresistance mechanisms and immune modulation in cancer. 

She has published over 120 peer-reviewed articles, reviews, and book chapters, with an h-index of 46 and more than 6,500 citations. She has delivered over 100 invited lectures worldwide and collaborate with research groups in Mexico, Colombia, and USA. She was a pioneer in implementing tissue microarray and digital pathology techniques in Mexico and has trained more than 30 graduate students and health professionals. One of her major scientific contributions was the identification of the transcription factors YY1 and HIF-1 as key regulators of chemoresistance in several cancers.

Received multiple Awards, including:

  • GlaxoSmithKline National Research Award (2008, 2010, 2014)
  • COPARMEX Health Award (2013)
  • CANIFARMA Award (2009)
  • Sánchez Medal from the Mexican Association for the Study of Hematology (three times)
  • Dr. Jorge Rosenkranz Medical Research Award (2010, 2012, 2014)
  • Awards for Best Presentations at the INS Annual Research Meeting (2018, 2019, 2022)
  • Awards for Best Presentations at the Annual Pediatric Research Meeting (2022, 2024)
  • Awards for Best Presentations at the Annual Research Meeting of the Children’s Hospital (2023, 2024)
  • Third and Second Place Awards at the UCLA School of Dentistry, Department of Tumor Biology Science Day (2024, 2025)