Q&A with CBI Fellow Carlos Rodriguez Santiago

Carlos Rodriguez Santiago is a Chemical Engineering PhD student at Stanford and part of the Chemistry/Biology Interface (CBI) Training Program at Sarafan ChEM-H. CBI is an interdisciplinary training program that supplements traditional degree-granting PhD programs at Stanford. The program aims to help scientists speak multiple scientific languages spanning chemistry, biology, engineering, and medicine, and enable them to tackle the most challenging and important problems facing human health. Carlos sat down to talk with us about his journey as an engineer in a bone marrow transplant research lab, where he is applying protein engineering techniques to find new treatments for cancer.  

What problem are you trying to solve with your current research project?

Acute myeloid leukemia, or AML,  is a rare but devastating disease that disrupts normal blood cell production. As such, life expectancy without treatment is typically less than two years after diagnosis. Current treatments for AML include chemotherapy and radiation, followed by a stem cell transplant; however, AML often affects patients older than age 65 who are unable to withstand these harsh treatments. Less toxic treatments are less effective and lead to only a 30% chance of success with bone marrow transplants, so we’re trying to develop a new medicine that will be accessible to more patients who can’t tolerate harsh chemotherapy and radiation. 

How did you become involved in bone marrow transplant research?

My path into the bone marrow transplant field was serendipitous. I was taking a translational medicine course while looking for a lab to join at Stanford, and I met a presenter whose talk was about discovering antibodies to treat bone marrow cancer. At the time, she was having trouble making these proteins—these antibodies—and I happened to be a protein engineer. I reached out asking if we could collaborate, and that is how I found my way into Dr. Judith Shizuru’s lab.  

My advisor is an MD/PhD who sees these cancer patients on a daily basis and treats them with chemo and radiation, medicines that were invented 50 years ago. Since high school, I have wanted to be part of a team that finds a cure for cancer, and I was really motivated by Dr. Shizuru’s question: “How do we bring 21st century medicine to this age-old problem?” 

I’ve really enjoyed being the ‘transplanted’ engineer in a stem cell transplantation group because I come in with a fresh perspective. I have found that my biggest gains in learning, as well as the most interesting problems to solve, are when you put scientists and clinicians together and say, “How do we solve this problem?” 

What approach are you taking to develop these new cancer treatments?

We are trying to replace chemotherapy and radiation with antibodies, which are much more specific with fewer side effects. Stem cells within the bone marrow can turn into immature immune cells, which then can become many different immune cell types with well-defined functions. It’s a very coordinated process, and if the instructions are incomplete—if you get a mutation in your DNA at the stem cell level—then some parts of this process break. In AML, mutations accumulate at the stem cell level. The result is the generation of immature immune cells that can’t continue their normal maturation process and don’t give rise to the mature immune cells that you need in order to stay healthy. We are trying to use antibodies to specifically target and kill these diseased stem and cancerous cells.

How do these antibodies selectively target cancer cells?

Have you ever played catch with a Velcro mitt and fuzzy tennis ball? We’re inventing the Velcro antibody mitts that will bring together the cancer cells and immune cells by sticking to specific fuzzy markers on the surface of the cancerous tennis balls. In this way, the engineered antibodies mark the ‘bad’ cancer cells and recruit specialized immune cells to attack them, while leaving healthy cells alone. 

Why were you attracted to the CBI program at ChEM-H?

I was attracted to the CBI program because I really enjoy collaboration. CBI is all about having interdisciplinary cross-pollination. Often, when I have discussions with scientists outside of my field, I realize things about my own field that I didn’t know. We help refine each other’s thinking.

What advice do you have for new CBI students?

Talk to as many students and professors as you can. This is the best way to find opportunities. The path to achieving your dreams is based on a set of 5-year goals that you lay out for yourself. It’s never the straight path that you predict, but if you keep setting these milestones, eventually you’ll get there. Outside of the lab, I like to do archery. It’s a precision sport, kind of like science—you pull back the bow, you aim, you shoot, you see the results, and then you make fine adjustments to narrow in on that target. Like archery, as you dial in the precision of what your goal is in life, eventually you get closer and closer until you hit a bullseye. 

##

Judith Shizuru is a Professor of Blood and Bone Marrow Transplantation at Stanford in the School of Medicine. She is also a member of Bio-X, the Cardiovascular Institute, the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, and the Stanford Cancer Institute.