Elva Diaz

Elva Díaz, director of the pharmacology department at UC Davis, is a researcher who specializes in developmental neurobiology, using rodents to study molecular mechanisms of brain development. Diaz is a recipient of the National Institutes of Health Director's New Innovator Award, as well as the UC Davis ADVANCE Scholar Award.

Early life and education Elva Denise Díaz

Díaz attended Harvard University for her undergraduate studies where she majored in Biomechanical Science.

Díaz was also a 2009 recipient of a $1.5 million NIH Director's New Innovator Award. The purposes of her studies were, "1) to reprogram brain tumor cells toward a more stem-like phenotype, 2) to characterize the tumorigenic potential of such reprogrammed tumor stem-like cell lines, and 3) to identify chemical compounds that specifically target the reprogrammed tumor stem-like cells."

One of Díaz's core areas of research involves the exploration of the potential of pluripotent stem cells combined with immunotherapy to treat brain cancers. Her research has identified that tumor cells in the brain form pseudo synapses with the CNS to take over nutrients and mimic normal cellular communications. Díaz's team has identified a protein called SynDIG4 that regulates this receptor movement, potentially enhancing memory strength.

Awards Helen Hay Whitney Fellowship, 1999 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, 2004

Selected publications