Dr. Bonavida is internationally renowned by his expertise and various publications in the field of tumor cell sensitization to chemotherapy and in particular the novel role of Nitric Oxide (NO) donors in chemo-sensitization and reversal of drug resistance. Dr. Bonavida, and subsequently others, has introduced the concept of "Immunosensitization," in which various selected agents that target resistant factors in the cancer cell can restore the response to antibody therapy. It has been reported on several mechanisms that underlie the resistance to antibody therapeutics, in which it has been demonstrated that antibodies trigger the tumor cells and inhibit survival/anti-apoptotic signaling pathways on one hand and also inhibit the signals that prevent the antibody-mediated cytotoxic activity. In the reported publications, it has been identified several gene products that regulate the cell resistance and, in which, selective specific sensitizing agents were used and in combination with the antibodies, resulted in the reversal of resistance. Examples of such sensitizing agents that were used consisted of proteasome inhibitors, RNA interference, chemical inhibitors targeting anti-apoptotic gene products, etc. Of interest, the concept of sensitization was initially developed in the 1990s and Dr.

Bonavida published a book entitled Sensitization of Cancer Cells for Chemo/Immuno/Radiotherapy published by Humana/Springer in 2007. That was the first book on the subject of sensitization and it is still the main reference on the subject.