Manuel Serrano

Manuel Serrano pioneered the concept of oncogene-induced senescence as a critical tumor suppressive barrier, demonstrating that activation of RAS or other oncogenes triggers irreversible cell cycle arrest through the p16INK4a/Rb pathway. His research revealed that senescence acts as an early checkpoint preventing malignant transformation in premalignant lesions across multiple tissue types. He developed in vivo models showing that senescence induction and subsequent immune-mediated clearance of senescent cells constitute a natural tumor suppression mechanism. His work on cellular reprogramming in vivo has opened new avenues for understanding tissue plasticity and cancer.