Dr Patricia Abrão Possik

International Fellow at the Sanger Institute and Group Leader at the Brazilian National Cancer Institute (INCA), Rio de Janeiro

Patricia collaborates with researchers in the Cancer, Ageing and Somatic Mutations Programme to deepen understanding of Acral Lentiginous Melanoma (ALM). ALM has no specialist treatments and is prevalent in non-European descent populations, including the Brazilian population.

Patricia leads a research group at the Brazilian National Cancer Institute (INCA) in Rio de Janeiro focused on the cellular and molecular biology of tumours. The main focus of her group is on Acral Lentiginous Melanoma (ALM), an understudied subtype of skin cancer that is a significant health problem in Brazil and other Latin American countries. The establishment of a strong collaboration with scientists, medical pathologists and clinicians at the Brazilian National Cancer Institute and abroad has enabled the collection of samples from Brazilian patients, which are being characterized genetically and used to generate experimental models aimed at understanding the biology of the disease and identifying therapeutic targets.

Dr. Possik received a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the Federal University of São Carlos, followed by a Master’s in Genetics and Evolution. She earned her PhD from the Antônio Prudente Foundation with work performed at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in São Paulo and at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia, followed by postdoc training at the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam.