overview

• Dr. Kevin M. Alicea-Torres is a cancer immunology researcher, science communicator, and educator. Currently, he is a tenure-track assistant professor of cell and molecular biology in the Department of Biology at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) in Humacao. Completed his Ph.D. in cell and molecular biology at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) and he conducted his thesis research on immune regulation in the tumor microenvironment, where he developed an immunotherapy combinatorial approach to treat cancer. He has published nine peer-reviewed articles and earned several research awards. Before his doctoral studies, Alicea-Torres earned his bachelor’s degree from the UPR at Humacao in Microbiology. Currently, he is identifying new targets that modulate tumor-associated myeloid cells to develop novel cancer treatments. His main research project focuses on understanding the role of negative regulators signals in myeloid-derived suppressors cells (MDSCs) immune suppressive activity in cancer. In addition, he is collaborating with other labs and hospitals in Puerto Rico and United States to evaluate patient responses to immunotherapy. At the same time, Alicea-Torres is conducting STEM education research that aims in 1) assessing the effectiveness of STEM educational resources to improve biology students’ performance; 2) evaluating the effectiveness of science communication and storytelling as a strategy to foster STEM inclusion among LatinX.

  As a first-generation scientist, Alicea-Torres has been actively involved in outreach initiatives, retention, and recruitment of underrepresented students in STEM throughout his professional and academic career. He is the co-founder of “Caminos en Ciencia”, a science communication platform in where we conduct in-person interviews with Latin American scientists from all over the world and discuss their career development and their surpassed struggles that led to their success in their respective fields. In 2020, he was the recipient of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Mass Media Fellowship and was sponsored to work as a science writer at El Nuevo Día Newspaper in Puerto Rico. As an AAAS Fellow he published over 35 science news articles and he continue collaborating with the media outlet.

  His ultimate goal is to develop new immunotherapies for cancer, provide research opportunities to students, and advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in higher education, while serving, inspiring, and empowering the next generation of scientists.