Patricia Nano

Patricia Nano

Cohort
2018
Graduation Year
2018

Patricia is a Chemical and Systems Biology graduate student in Prof. James Chen’s lab. She started doing research in the developmental neuroscience lab of Prof. Jannon Fuchs as a junior at the Texas Academy of Math & Science. Patricia continued to study developmental signaling pathways in the lab of Prof. Daniel Wagner at Rice University, where she graduated with a B.S. in Biochemistry. After a summer working in Prof. Josh Elias’ proteomics lab through the AMGEN/Stanford Summer Research Program, she decided to move to the Bay Area and pursue her PhD at Stanford. Patricia currently studies how proteins regulating embryonic development, such as Gli transcription factors, can become misregulated and contribute to cancer growth. Specifically, her project focuses on the molecular mechanisms by which Gli proteins can be activated by Rho GTPase activating protein 36 (ARHGAP36). Given the links between ARHGAP36 and pediatric neural cancers, understanding the role of ARHGAP36 in misplaced Gli activation could unlock its potential as a therapeutic target.