SWIS Speaker Series: Maria Zulema Cabail, "The Journey to RAPID: A Nonlinear Path from Fundamental Biology to Bioacoustic Innovation"
July 29, 2026
Maria Zulema Cabail
Supporting Women in STEM (SWIS), a Brookhaven Employees’ Recreation Association club, is pleased to present a talk by Maria Zulema Cabail on Thursday, July 30, at noon in the Hamilton Seminar Room (Bldg. 555). This event is hybrid. To watch online, please register in advance. All employees, students, and guests with a Lab-issued ID badge are invited to join.
About the talk
Scientific careers rarely follow a linear path. Maria Zulema Cabail’s interdisciplinary research journey demonstrates how seemingly unrelated scientific questions can ultimately converge to inspire technological innovation. Her work has spanned enzymology, structural biology, immunology, radiobiology, cancer biology, and bioengineering, with each stage contributing new scientific perspectives and technical expertise. Investigations of enzyme structure-function relationships, immune signaling pathways, radioprotective mechanisms, and insulin receptor signaling established a broad foundation in molecular mechanisms and cellular regulation.
Her current research focuses on immunometabolism and the molecular mechanisms that link obesity-associated inflammation to prostate cancer progression. By identifying the signaling networks that promote tumor cell migration and invasion, this work seeks to better understand the relationship between chronic inflammation and cancer aggressiveness.
Together, these diverse research experiences laid the conceptual and technical foundation for the development of Real-time Acoustic Profiling of Invasion Depth (RAPID), an innovative technology developed at Brookhaven Lab through the Visiting Faculty Program (VFP).
RAPID uses sound waves to study how cancer cells move through and invade surrounding tissues, providing a new way to observe this critical step in cancer progression with greater precision and in real time. By overcoming some of the limitations of traditional laboratory methods, RAPID has the potential to improve how we study cancer metastasis, evaluate new therapies, and better understand why some cancers become more aggressive. Ultimately, RAPID illustrates how discoveries rooted in fundamental biology can evolve into innovative technologies with broad applications in cancer research and drug discovery.
About the speaker
Maria Zulema Cabail, Ph.D., is a participant in the VFP at Brookhaven Lab and an associate professor of biological sciences at SUNY Old Westbury. An award-winning educator whose research focuses on immunometabolism, obesity, and cancer biology, she earned her doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, and holds an advanced certificate in clinical research from Stony Brook University. Cabail leads research investigating the molecular mechanisms linking obesity, inflammation, and prostate cancer, with a particular emphasis on the role of autophagy in metabolic disease. A recipient of SUNY’s Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, she is committed to advancing scientific discovery while mentoring the next generation of researchers.
Established in 2025, the SWIS BERA club is open to all employees, students, and guests with a Lab-issued ID badge. The group’s goals are to foster a safe and welcoming community, celebrate career accomplishments, encourage the pursuit of STEM careers, and provide networking opportunities for members. To learn more, visit the SWIS club homepage or contact SWISInquiries@bnl.gov.
2026-23083 | INT/EXT | Newsroom
