Marx Figueiredo, speaker at the 2026 Annual Meeting, is helping guide the next generation of researchers.
Marxa Figueiredo, PhD, is leading the way to targeted gene therapies that will treat bone metastatic prostate cancer.
Figueiredo is a professor in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences at the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine. Her research focuses on the interplay between the skeletal and immune systems, bridging the gap between fundamental molecular discoveries and translational clinical applications. Her lab is focused on leveraging multifunctional cytokines, minibinders, and small molecules that target bone and inflammatory cells to promote regeneration and immune modulation. The innovative therapies they’ve discovered not only impact bone metastatic cancers, but also inflammatory conditions like arthritis.
In addition to leading cutting edge research, Figueiredo is guiding the next generation of STEM researchers by serving as a mentor for the 2026 Indiana CTSI Ivy Tech Research Scholars program.
This summer, Ivy Tech research scholar Gabrielle Barrido was paired with Figueiredo. With her help, Barrido joined the Lilly Purdue Innovation Institute, which connects students to the Eli Lilly talent pipeline and provides career development opportunities as well as early access to internship and job postings.
Additionally, knowing that Barrido was interested in gaining exposure to drug design, Figueiredo connected her with a collaborator at the University of Central Florida who has agreed to teach her about peptide design.
Figueiredo and Barrido’s summer research culminated at the Purdue Undergraduate Summer Symposium, with their poster scoring in the top 20% of nearly 500 poster submissions. Barrido has now finished her time at Ivy Tech and is starting her first semester at Purdue.
Figueiredo will present her work, “Osteoimmunology and Therapeutic Strategies for Prostate Cancer Bone Metastasis” during the morning session of the 2026 Indiana CTSI Annual Meeting on September 18. Register now to attend.
