Meet one of our early-career scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute: Ambroise Manceau, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Cosimo Commisso, PhD. Manceau studies pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma — the most common form of pancreatic cancer with only a 13% five-year survival rate.

When and how did you become interested in science?
When I was very young, I was a bit of a nerd when it came to reading reviews of new scientific studies written for kids. Especially anything related to biology.

I lost sight of that interest at some point in my teenage years. I tried going into computer science, but I realized very quickly that it wasn’t a good fit for me. That forced me to do some deeper self-reflection about what I really wanted to do, and that brought me back to biology.

I started studying biology at college, and everything just clicked into place. I really found my way when I went to college.

What brought you to the Commisso lab at Sanford Burnham Prebys?
I have an uncle that I always admired who is a researcher here in California. From talking with him, it sounded like a great place to work and live as a scientist. When I was an undergraduate in France, I decided to do a four-month internship abroad in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California.

I absolutely loved it, and I knew I wanted to return when I could. Because you can finish your graduate school program a bit faster in France, I decided to go back to France to earn my doctorate and then apply for postdoctoral positions in Southern California.

I was looking for labs conducting interesting research in the region, and that is when I found the Commisso lab. It has been a terrific fit for me.

What are the key areas of research you focus on?
My broad focus is on metabolism and organelle biology in pancreatic cancer. My main project looks at macropinocytosis, which is a cellular process that allows cells to gather extra resources from their surrounding environments. Pancreatic cancer cells use this process as an adaptation because they exist in an environment where resources are scarce, and they need to find fuel for their expansion.

I study the contents taken in when pancreatic cancer cells contort their cell surfaces to create pockets called macropinosomes. By analyzing every single protein located on macropinosomes, I found that calcium and zinc transporter proteins present in macropinosomes also are required for macropinocytosis.

These proteins have never been targeted before in pancreatic cancer. By continuing to research them, our long-term goal is to use this strategy to cut the nutrient supply to tumors and see if we can inhibit tumor growth.

What motivates you about your research?
One thing I enjoy is how you adjust your hypothesis based on what you are learning from the experiments. You need to adapt your hypothesis as you gain knowledge, but you don’t always realize it because it can happen one little step at a time.

Then you look at your project a year later, and it is very satisfying to see how much it evolved and how much you changed your mind by following the data.

Also, now that I have attended pancreatic cancer conferences and met with physicians and patients, I have more appreciation for the need to improve upon available therapies.

What do you like about working here?
The people at Sanford Burnham Prebys embrace collaboration. They also are very curious, knowledgeable and kind. With the core facilities, workshops and other opportunities for learning and networking, we have so many resources available to us.

Then add on top of that the location in San Diego, which is a great hub for biomedical research and the biotech industry. And we have the Southern California coast, culture and weather for when we aren’t working.

Have you had an influential mentor?
In addition to my uncle, my thesis mentor and principal investigator back in France were very influential in my professional development. Here, I feel like Cosimo is doing everything he can to get the best out of me, including supporting me to go to workshops and conferences.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not in the lab?
I’m a bit addicted to rock climbing, and San Diego is a great place to be a climber. I have access to an incredible indoor climbing gym, but I also can go climbing outdoors within a 15-minute drive from where I live.

I also play a bit of tennis, go running and relax at the beach. And I’m painting some, which is something I used to do on rainy days in France. We don’t have many rainy days here, though, so I always want to be outside.

Postdocs at Sanford Burnham Prebys are pushing the boundaries of science every day through curiosity, collaboration, and innovation. This series highlights their unique journeys, what inspires their work, and the impact they’re making across our labs.

Explore the Full Series

Meet one of our early-career scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute: Dana Mamriev, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Maximiliano D’Angelo, PhD. Mamriev studies the gateway between the DNA stored in the cell’s nucleus and the rest of the cell to better understand how changes in this junction contribute to cancer development.

When and how did you become interested in science?
As a teenager, I was very into sports, and I was endlessly fascinated by the human body. I wondered what makes an athlete faster, stronger or better able to perform under pressure.

I started digging a bit into aspects of athletic performance and realized how much depth there is to molecular biology. I began to see that there are different types of muscle cells, how food is broken down to lipids, carbohydrates and amino acids, and that we have different metabolic pathways.

That was the beginning of my interest in science. When I started college, I took a few courses in biology and chemistry. I was immediately hooked. Before long, I knew I wanted to get some hands-on experience in research.

What did you imagine you would be doing professionally, and how did it evolve?
Growing up, I was an athlete on the Israeli national team. I started racing kayaks. Later, I transferred to sailing in a two-person boat called a 470 because it is 470 centimeters long.

I raced in world championships, European championships, world cups and other events. It was fun, and I was quite serious about it until the age of 21 or so.

But even while training and competing, I was equally drawn to science. As an undergraduate, I joined a lab for what I thought would be a one-year research project on cancer and programmed cell death (apoptosis). I loved it so much that I stayed through my undergraduate studies, my master’s degree, and eventually my doctoral training. That experience cemented my commitment to a career in cancer research.

What brought you to the D’Angelo lab at Sanford Burnham Prebys?
What drew me to the D’Angelo lab was its focus on fundamental mechanisms that drive cancer. Nuclear pore complexes are central to so many cellular processes and understanding how they go wrong in cancer has the potential to open new paths for treatment. That combination of basic science and translational impact made the lab the right fit for me.   

During my PhD studies, my main project focused on breast cancer. So, I thought it could be a nice transition to study nuclear pore complexes in breast cancer. That ended up becoming my first project at Sanford Burnham Prebys.

What are the key areas of research you focus on?
Our lab studies the nuclear pore complex. It’s basically a grouping of 32 proteins that are embedded in the nuclear envelope dividing the nucleus from the rest of the cell.

It is shaped like a pore and acts as a gate that controls what molecules come in and out of the nucleus where we store our DNA. In addition to this role in transport, the nuclear pore complex has many other functions, including in the cell cycle, gene expression and chromatin organization, and more.

The levels of some of the proteins in the nuclear pore complex are known to be elevated in different types of cancer. I focus on studying these changes in the nuclear pore complex in breast cancer and in lung cancer. I’m trying to understand how these changes are contributing to cancer developing and spreading to other parts of the body.

What motivates you about your research?
I think my main motivation is that I really like what I’m doing It’s the thrill of discovery and the challenge of solving difficult problems. Research often feels like piecing together a complex puzzle. When the data finally come together, it’s deeply rewarding. I especially enjoy the moments when a stubborn experiment finally reveals something new; those breakthroughs make all the effort worthwhile and inspire me to keep pushing forward.

What do you like about working here?
We have a friendly and collaborative environment at Sanford Burnham Prebys. And we have many seminars that people attend and get to know each other, which helps with building collaborations. Also, the core research facilities here are top-tier and enable cutting-edge research.

Then you have San Diego as a hub for research, and especially here in La Jolla with all the great institutes around us. And we have all these biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies nearby as well. It is an outstanding place for scientists.

Have you had an influential mentor?
Throughout my training, I’ve had, and still have, the privilege of working with mentors who are not only accomplished scientists but also generous teachers. Each brought something different: dedication, curiosity, discipline and patience. Their examples have been a constant source of motivation in my career.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not in the lab?
I took up cycling after moving here and joined the San Diego Bicycle Club. I like to join their weekly rides, and sometimes I bike to work.

I started racing here as a cyclist. I’m familiar with racing in other sports, but racing in cycling was completely new for me. And I found it a bit funny that all the racing experience I have in kayaking and sailing is not helping.

I had to learn new strategies for when to conserve energy and when to go all out. I even got dropped from the peloton of competitors in my first race, so I’m learning the hard way. It just motivates me to better understand the sport, and to keep training and get better.

Postdocs at Sanford Burnham Prebys are pushing the boundaries of science every day through curiosity, collaboration, and innovation. This series highlights their unique journeys, what inspires their work, and the impact they’re making across our labs.

Explore the Full Series