Quick Facts

  • Name: Idhaliz Flores-Caldera
  • Comes from: Coamo, Puerto Rico
  • Lives in: Ponce, Puerto Rico
  • In three words: Read, Travel, Love
  • Leisure time activities: Reading, singing, running, cooking, spending time with my family
  • Likes: Coffee, pizza, Pinot noir
  • Unsuspected talent: I am a mezzo-soprano; I love singing by myself or accompanied by our band of researchers/musicians (the Screaming Ovaries).
  • Currently reading: The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee

 In a nutshell

  • My research matters because… It adds to the current knowledge of how endometriosis develops and how we can tamper its negative impact on all aspects of the life of patients.
  • One of the inspirations for my research has been… My own struggle with infertility.
  • The best thing about my job is… Teaching, training and mentoring students at all levels, and then seeing them succeed and even become my colleagues and collaborators.
  • My career highlight so far has been… Being the first Female Scientist recipient of an R01 grant at Ponce Health Sciences University.
  • My advice to aspiring researchers is… Keep trying, even when doors do not seem to easily open for you. Let your curiosity guide your path. Grasp all opportunities. Surround yourself by intelligent, kind people. And wait for it… delayed gratification is the name of the game in science…

Idhaliz Flores, PhD
Professor
Department of Microbiology and Ob-Gyn
Ponce Health Sciences University

Interview:

Always curious about nature, the human body and its systems, and the biological world, I can’t think of a better career for me. That together with the opportunity to teach and train others, of gathering but also sharing new knowledge fit very well with my personality and passion. This career provides the meaningful work I always envisioned I would have.

I conduct research on endometriosis, a painful inflammatory and chronic disease with substantial impact on quality of life and wellbeing of patients and their caretakers. Currently, my main research focus is to elucidate the immunological basis of endometriosis, which cells are key players, and whether it may be possible to use the immune system as the basis for diagnostics and therapeutics for this as yet incurable disease.

There is a lot of work on the genetics and epigenetics of endometriosis, on mechanisms of pelvic pain at both peripheral and central levels, and in non- invasive diagnostics. I hope to contribute to all of these areas through our work here at the Ponce Research Institute and through multi-disciplinary collaborations. Accelerating the flow of research findings to the clinic (from bench to bedside) and the application of personalized medicine to endometriosis are the areas of growth in the field that I am most excited about.

I value the opportunity to teach and train students at all levels, from high school to medical students and residents, in aspects related to basic research but also to help them recognize the impact on patients’ quality of life. It gives me great pleasure to work alongside other scientists from other disciplines (many of them women) in the various projects I am currently involved in; I value learning from them about fields of research I have not been trained on, and I am grateful that they have agreed to join my research team to move forward endometriosis and Women’s Health research. I particularly enjoy interacting with patients with endometriosis who selflessly donate biospecimens, data and importantly their time for our studies. I recognized early on how important is to provide the support they need and to keep them informed of our research findings and what it means for them.

I hope to contribute to the field of endometriosis and Women’s Health by discovering non-invasive diagnostic signatures of potential new targets for therapy for this patient population. A specific, non-invasive diagnostic test will allow early identification of those who will benefit from surgery and treatment to avoid years of suffering and complications. With the lack of a cure, finding therapeutic targets that do not involve hormonal suppression would constitute a substantial advancement in the clinical management of patients affected by endometriosis.

I enjoy spending time with my daughter and husband, my parents and siblings. I love traveling (when it was possible), fine dining, a good book and a cup of coffee. I also enjoy time outdoors with my running team, healthy cooking, and the countryside.