Welcome to the Florez Lab! 

Mission: Founded in 2019, the Florez Laboratory is committed to advancing research on early diagnosis, targeted therapies and health disparities​​. Specifically, we focus on the unique disease and survivorship characteristics faced by historically understudied and underserved populations with lung cancer, including women and young individuals. Vital to our mission is the training and mentorship of the new generation of cancer researchers. 
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What We Focus On: 

Provide Equitable Lung Cancer Care:

Our long-term goal is to:
  • Understand and address the unique needs and characteristics of young patients with lung cancer 
  • Examine the patient's journey through a lung cancer diagnosis from beginning to end
  • Identify and mitigate delays or barriers in the diagnostic process to improve timely diagnosis
  • Develop tailored interventions to address systemic inequities
  • Create new diagnostic tools for populations excluded from the current lung cancer screening guidelines: non-tobacco users and young individuals (<50 years of age)
Pioneer Investigations:

Our lab conducts groundbreaking research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical 
School, collaborating with:
  • Institutions within the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center Network
  • Belfer Center for Applied Sciences 
  • The Cancer Care Equity Program
  • DFCI Satellite sites (i.e. Merrimack Valley)
  • Community Sites within the Greater Boston area
National and international organizations including:
  • American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) ​
​Patient advocacy groups such as the:
  • Young Lung Cancer Initiative (YLC), EGFR Resisters and ALK Positive 
  • LUNGevity Foundation 
  • Lung Cancer Research Foundation