The decoder of the mechanisms that protect us from cancer
Ana Zubiaga is a geneticist whose research investigates how cells decide when to divide, differentiate or die, and how failures in those decisions can lead to cancer. Her work focuses on the E2F family of transcription factors, proteins that regulate the activity of genes involved in cell proliferation and the duplication of DNA.
Zubiaga and her team have shown that E2F proteins do more than activate cell division. They also act as guardians of genome stability, helping cells avoid excessive replication stress when DNA is copied. When this protective system is disrupted, cells accumulate damage and become more vulnerable to malignant transformation.
This research has revealed a potential therapeutic opportunity. Cancer cells already experience high levels of replication stress, so selectively increasing that pressure may push them beyond their capacity to survive while leaving healthy cells less affected. More recently, her group has identified a previously unrecognised role for E2Fs in shaping the tumour immune microenvironment and helping cancer cells evade immune attack. These findings may support future treatments that combine direct targeting of tumour cells with activation of anti-tumour immunity.
Career and recognitions
Zubiaga studied Biology and completed her PhD at the University of the Basque Country (EHU). After postdoctoral training at Tufts University and Harvard University in the United States, she returned to EHU and established her research group at the Faculty of Science and Technology, where she combines research with undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in Genetics.
She coordinates the EHU Cancer Research Network, which participates in the European ENLIGHT Cancer Network, and has served three terms as programme manager at the Spanish State Research Agency. A member of Jakiunde, the Basque Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters since 2018, she has served as its President since 2024. Her work has been recognised with the Cadena SER-Radio Bilbao Award for Excellence in Research, the Elhuyar-CAF Award and an Honourable Mention in Biology from the Academy of Medical Sciences of Bilbao.
