School of Medicine


Showing 1-2 of 2 Results

  • Aya Awad

    Aya Awad

    Postdoctoral Scholar, Stanford Cancer Institute

    BioI am a postdoctoral fellow at the Stanford Cancer Institute in the laboratory of Steven Artandi, where my research focuses on telomere biology and telomerase regulation in cancer. My work integrates molecular genetics, biochemistry, and cell-based approaches to understand how dysregulation of telomere maintenance promotes genome instability and tumorigenesis.

    I received my PhD in Genetics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where my doctoral research examined the molecular mechanisms by which telomerase activity and telomere structure are regulated at chromosome ends. Through mechanistic studies combining patient-derived cells and molecular analyses, I contributed to defining how telomere elongation and overhang dynamics are controlled.

    At Stanford, my research centers on identifying regulatory pathways that control telomerase RNA maturation and activity, with a particular interest in discovering and characterizing small-molecule inhibitors targeting the telomerase pathway as potential cancer therapeutics. More broadly, I aim to translate fundamental insights in telomere biology into strategies for selectively targeting telomere maintenance mechanisms in cancer.