Dr. Manuel Penichet holds a M.D. degree and a Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry, both from the Havana Advanced Institute of Medical Sciences in Cuba. Since 1996, he has worked at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Dr. Penichet is currently an Assistant Professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, and in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics at UCLA. Dr. Penichet has developed antibody-avidin fusion proteins to be used as pro-apoptotic drugs and as universal vectors to deliver a broad spectrum of biotinylated compounds into cancer cells by receptor-mediated endocytosis.
More recently Dr. Penichet started a new project focused on the development of novel human IgE antibodies for the treatment of cancer.