• Natural Sciences Department - Notable Alumni

Dr. Luis Chiriboga

Dr. Luis Chiriboga received his A.A.S. in histology in 1987 from the State University of New York, Agricultural and Technical College, Cobleskill. He was subsequently employed by the department of pathology at New York University Medical Center. In 1992 he received his B.S. in biochemistry and in 1997 he completed his Ph.D. degree in biochemistry at the City University of New York, Hunter College. In 1996, he left New York University and became a research scientist with InPhoCyte Inc. a biotechnology startup. In 1998, he left InPhoCyte for the Kaplan Comprehensive Cancer Center of New York University School of Medicine where he is currently employed as a research scientist.

I began my career in the sciences as a liberal arts and science student at SUNY Cobleskill. Like many students, I was unsure of what I wanted to do. I was always interested in medicine and science, so I thought that the histotechnology program would be a good place to start. The program was focused on practical laboratory training but also gave strong instruction in basic theory. The faculty was focused on developing the students skills but still created a relaxed learning environment. The facilities were top notch and the equipment excellent. My classmates were of the best sort, and we had great time studying and learning together. My affiliation was also a wonderful experience; great people who took their own time to teach me the "tricks of the trade".

I began working at New York University Medical Center shortly after graduating from Cobleskill. I needed to earn some money before I went back to school and I also wanted to get some real world experience. I felt really fortunate to get a job there, NYU is a teaching hospital so there is a lot of opportunity to learn new things. I was constantly asking questions of the residents and attendings who were more than happy to spend their time answering my questions. After working for a year, I began applying to undergraduate schools. I finally selected the City University Of New York since they were the most flexible. The next few years were difficult. I had to work full time while I went to school part-time, sometimes switching to work part-time and going to school full time. The hours were long but I knew it was just a matter of time before I finished. The faculty and staff at NYU and CUNY were very encouraging and supportive. They would always find a way to keep me working and still give me the time to study. By the time I finished my undergraduate degree, I had worked in several different clinical labs in the medical center and gained valuable experience.

I really didn't want to go to medical school, having seen first hand what it entailed, so I decided to apply to graduate school. I was accepted into the biochemistry doctoral program at CUNY Hunter College on a research fellowship. I continued to work part-time at NYU since the lab that I was in did both clinical and research work. I figured it might be helpful in the future. At school, I went in to the lab of Professor Max Diem who was studying protein and nucleic acid structure via vibrational spectroscopy. Just as I finished my course work and was beginning my thesis research, a collaboration started between my research mentor (Max) and a visiting professor. We were interested in using infrared vibrational spectroscopy to study cells and tissue. Previous studies indicated that there were significant differences between the infrared spectra of benign and neoplastic tissues. Because of my experience in histopathology and cross training in biochemistry, I joined the venture. We formed a biotechnology company called InPhoCyte and I left NYU to devote my time to making the company a success. While I was with the company, I was able to write my doctoral thesis, graduate, and establish myself in the field of biomedical spectroscopy. Unfortunately, things do not always work out as planned and a year after graduating, the company dissolved.

When I left InPhoCyte, I went back to NYU where a colleague had just gotten funding to start a research laboratory. The lab is part of the shared resources of the medical school's core facility. Our job is to provide new and innovative histopathology services for researchers who are investigating and developing modalities for cancer diagnosis and treatment. I also continue to do research into infrared vibrational spectroscopy of cells and tissue. We recently received a grant from the American Cancer Society to explore the use of infrared spectroscopy in detecting lung cancer. We have also established collaborations with other research groups as well as industrial companies.