It's In His DNA: Alumnus Turns Passion for DNA Research into a Career

Pedro Beltran ’92, Ph.D., is chief scientific officer at BridgeBio Oncology Therapeutics (BBOT), a clinical-stage biotechnology company that focuses on treating cancers by inhibiting driver oncogenes.

“This can be a very frustrating, time-consuming, 24/7 job. There’s just no way around it,” Beltran says. “But when you see somebody battling cancer with multiple lung tumors, even after six lines of therapy and no more options, and they take your medicine, which results in their tumors shrinking, or they disappear completely … there’s nothing more exciting, fulfilling and motivating than that!”

Beltran’s passion for DNA has always been in his DNA, even at a young age growing up in Lima, Peru.

Inspired by the DNA revolution that started in the ’60s, Beltran knew he needed to look outside of his home country to pursue his love of DNA and turn it into a career.

With the help of his father, Beltran discovered Florida Tech through its ELS Language Center.

“When I graduated from high school, I didn’t speak any English because the school I attended in Lima was German,” Beltran says. “My father’s work had him traveling back and forth from Peru to Miami a lot, so he researched nearby language institutes to help me learn English and found Florida Tech.”

After moving to Melbourne, Florida, and attending the university’s language program for six months, Beltran couldn’t imagine pursuing his education anywhere but Florida Tech.

“I loved the community and the friends I had made, so I decided to apply,” Beltran says. “I was already living on campus and, at the same time, starting to get some exposure to the genetic engineering programs the university had to offer.”

Once enrolled at Florida Tech, Beltran felt confident in his desired career path after spending two summers in now emeritus faculty member Alan Leonard’s lab.

“His patience and dedication to training students in the lab and then performing molecular biology experiments with us kept me engaged and convinced me that I have made the right decision,” Beltran says.

After completing his education at Florida Tech and receiving a bachelor’s degree in molecular biology, Beltran knew he wanted to make a difference with his education and pursue medicine creation.

Under Leonard’s guidance, Beltran started applying for grad schools and was selected to attend the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. There, he completed his Ph.D. in cancer biology in the laboratory of professor Isaiah J. Fidler, chairman of the cell biology department.

Beltran then found himself back in Florida at the University of Miami, where he completed his postdoctoral fellowship focusing on molecular and cellular pharmacology with John Bixby.

Left to Right: Pedro Beltran ’92, Stacy Nicklow, President John Nicklow

“My goal was and still is to make medicines for people with serious diseases,” he says. “So, everything that I do is based on that North Star.”

In his current role, Beltran manages a team of scientists who create, design and test molecules that will be turned into medicines and delivered to clinics that help cancer patients. This process, developing a new treatment from beginning to end, can take more than 10 years and cost upward of $1 billion, he says.

“An important part of this process is to mentor the next generation of scientists that will continue adding pieces to our knowledge, ensuring the creation of better medicines in the future,” Beltran says.

BBOT’s main focus is driver oncogenes, genes that can drive tumor growth on their own. BBOT is focused on the most important oncogenes: RAS and PIK3CA.

Because 35% of all cancers are driven by RAS, it is the most mutated oncogene in human cancer.

Beltran and his team are very excited about one of their novel projects, BBO-10203, creating a small molecule that breaks the interaction between RAS and PIK3CA. He expects BBO-10203 to start phase 1 clinical trials later this year.

Beltran has authored more than 10 Investigational New Drug Applications and 40-plus peer-reviewed manuscripts and abstracts, has spoken at multiple national and international conferences and holds various patents that describe novel ways to treat malignant diseases.

In 2022, Beltran was honored with Florida Tech’s Outstanding Alumni Award for Science from the College of Engineering and Science.