The research interests of Roxana S. Dronca, M.D., are in the field of tumor immunology, with a particular interest in malignant melanoma and genitourinary malignancies. Her goal is to understand the interaction of immune and endocrine systems in modulating the anti-tumor immune response, study the dynamics and mechanisms of systemic immune regulation in cancer, and develop innovative approaches to cancer therapy utilizing chemotherapy and immunotherapy agents administered in an individualized fashion — synchronized to patient-specific endogenous anti-tumor immune dynamics.

Dr. Dronca's additional research focus is to study the signaling pathway of B7-H1/PD-1 and its role in impaired host immunity in melanoma patients. For this project, Dr. Dronca is closely collaborating with other Mayo Clinic researchers to identify the mechanisms of clinical activity and resistance of these novel immunotherapeutic agents, and to develop and validate immunological biomarkers that could predict response to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapies and guide individualized treatment administration.