Dr. Maricruz Rivera completed her MD and PhD degrees at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Her PhD focused on understanding mechanisms by which glioblastoma develops resistance to radiation therapy; in particular she explored novel pathways activated in gliomas that repair damaged DNA and prevent DNA damage responses necessary for inducing tumor cell death following radiation. Dr. Rivera received her undergraduate degree in biochemistry from the University of California, Riverside, where she also continued to work with developmentally disabled adults at a state-licensed care home that she founded while in high school.
