Ana I. Robles, Ph.D.

Dr. Ana I. Robles serves as Chief of the Diagnostics Evaluation Branch in the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis (DCTD) Cancer Diagnosis Program. In this role, she leads efforts to advance the discovery, validation, and clinical implementation of biomarkers that improve cancer diagnosis, prognosis, treatment selection, and patient outcomes. The Branch portfolio includes cooperative agreements that support investigator-initiated research focused on analytical and clinical validation of molecular diagnostics to be used in NCI-supported trials of cancer treatment, control, or prevention. 

Dr. Robles first joined DCTD as Program Director in the Office of Cancer Clinical Proteomics Research, where she oversaw major national and international proteogenomics initiatives and contributed to landmark proteogenomics studies as part of the Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium. Previously, Dr. Robles was an Associate Scientist at the NCI Center for Cancer Research, conducting research in molecular epidemiology and the discovery and functional characterization of lung cancer biomarkers using genomic, epigenetic, transcriptomic, microbiome, and proteomic data. 

Dr. Robles received a chemistry degree from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, completed doctoral studies in Cancer Biology at the University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, followed by postdoctoral training at the NCI ’s Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis. Dr. Robles is recipient of the NCI Director's Innovation Award for work leveraging DNA methylation for diagnosis and prognosis of lung cancer and the NCI Director's Award for Oversight of Programmatic Vision as part of the Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium Team, and as part The Cancer Research Data Commons Team. Throughout twenty years’ experience working in a laboratory environment in the Intramural Program, Dr. Robles mentored over 40 students, trainees, and postdoctoral fellows, and has co-authored over 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Selected Publications

• Artificial intelligence in cancer diagnostics: a primer for clinicians and scientists. Rizwan AM, Makhlouf HR, Bharti S, Dey SM, Ossandon MR, Robustelli CE, Samant M, Robles AI, Sorg BS, Harris LN. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2026 May 7:djag143. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djag143.
• Integrative analysis of lung adenocarcinoma across diverse ethnicities and exposures. Satpathy S, Clark NM, Chen YJ, et al. Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium. Cancer Cell. 2025 Sep 8;43(9):1731-1757.e17. doi: 10.1016/j.ccell.2025.07.011.
• Urinary Metabolite Diagnostic and Prognostic Liquid Biopsy Biomarkers of Lung Cancer in Nonsmokers and Tobacco Smokers. Dalal B, Tada T, Patel DP, et al. Clin Cancer Res. 2024 Aug 15;30(16):3592-3602. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-24-0637.
• Proteogenomic data and resources for pan-cancer analysis. Li Y, Dou Y, Da Veiga Leprevost F, et al. Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium. Cancer Cell. 2023 Aug 14;41(8):1397-1406. doi: 10.1016/j.ccell.2023.06.009.
• Anurag M, Jaehnig EJ, Krug K, et al. Proteogenomic Markers of Chemotherapy Resistance and Response in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. Cancer Discov. 2022;12(11):2586-2605. doi:10.1158/2159-8290.CD-22-0200

Additional Links to Scientific Publications

• Scopus

Education

• PhD, Cancer Biology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Texas, Houston, TX