Guillermina Lozano

Guillermina 'Gigi' Lozano is an American geneticist. She is a Professor and Hubert L. Olive Stringer Distinguished Chair in Oncology in Honor of Sue Gribble Stringer at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas. Lozano is recognised for her studies of the p53 tumour suppressor pathway, characterising the protein as a regulator of gene expression (transcription factor) and that is disturbed in many cancers. She was the first to recognize that the p53 gene encoded a transcriptional activator of other genes^[1] Her lab has made significant contributions by developing and analyzing mouse models to study the activities of mutant p53, revealing how these mutations drive tumor development and progression.^[2] She also found out how the Mdm2 and Mdm4 proteins work in the body, especially in stopping cancer and controlling p53. This research suggested that blocking Mdm2/4 could be a new way to treat cancer.^[3]