Dr. Cara Gonzales

Description:

I am a Tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Comprehensive Dentistry and cross-appointed in the Dept. of Otolaryngology in the School of Medicine enabling me to conduct translational research in the field of oral cancer. My primary research interest is oral cancer biology and development of new therapies to treat oral cancer. As a top dental school, UT Health SA (formerly UTHSCSA) has a very strong research program and an NCI-designated Mays Cancer Center, (MCC; formerly Cancer Therapy and Research Center) that serves oral cancer patients from all of South Texas, a region with exceptionally high rates of oral cancer. Consequently, I have access to a large patient population making clinical trials quite feasible. Since joining the faculty at UT Health San Antonio (UTHSA), I have worked diligently to establish a multi-disciplinary oral cancer research program. This major undertaking entailed establishing my own lab and then coordinating my research interests with the UTHSA Mays Cancer Center (MCC) and with investigators and clinicians from across UTHSA. As a result of these efforts, we now have a robust group of interdisciplinary collaborators making San Antonio a center for excellence in oral cancer treatment and research.

Working days:

Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday

Explore My Expertise :

Dentist Scientist with Expertise in Oral Cancer and Cancer Pain – As a dentist-scientist, I have developed expertise in cancer biology and cancer pain over the last ten years. My research focus is related specifically to oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) initiation and progression to metastatic disease. I have extensive experience using mouse models (xenograft and carcinogen-induced) to test efficacy of new therapies. My expertise also includes evaluation of molecular pathways that drive OSCC and testing novel therapies that target these pathways. I also perform translational clinical research by enrolling oral cancer patients treated at the MARC and MCC to evaluate oral cancer pain therapeutics and the use of salivary diagnostics for prognostic biomarker development. Through my efforts in establishing collaborative interactions both
inside UTHSA and with investigators from other universities, we now have a thriving interdisciplinary Oral Cancer Research Theme that is reflected on the MCC and the UTHSCSA Dental School websites and interest from local and national media. UTHSCSA serves the entire oral cancer patient population in all of south Texas. By developing a strong basic and clinical research program we are emerging as a center for excellence in oral cancer therapy and research.

“I also teach in preclinical courses including Restorative
Dentistry and Removable. Lastly, I supervise pre-doctoral students providing patient care in the clinic.“