Profile
Diana Dcona holds bachelor's degrees in Microbiology and Education from India. At the Keck School of Medicine of USC, she gained broad research experience in cancer biology and translational laboratory science. In the Steven R. Grossman lab, her work included generation of transgenic mouse models, to study PDAC progression. She also performed in vivo assays to evaluate the effects of CtBP (a transcription cofactor) inhibitors in xenograft and orthotopic mouse models. In addition, she was involved in drug studies related to inhibitors of NAD biosynthesis. She has hands-on experience with in vitro drug studies, protein purification, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, immunoblotting, and organoid culture. Currently, Diana is part of the Dianne Newman and Ellen Rothenberg labs at Caltech. In the Rothenberg lab, she is involved in genotyping, including DNA extraction, PCR-based assays, and analysis of genetic variants in mice. Beyond her scientific work, Diana enjoys cooking, pan-continental music, and collecting gemstones.