Mikala Egeblad

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Mikala Egeblad
Alma materUniversity of Copenhagen
Scientific career
Thesis ErbB receptors and ligands in breast cancer  (1999)
Doctoral advisor Zena Werb

Mikala Egeblad is a Bloomburg Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She is known for her research into cancer, and how it spreads in humans.

Contents

Education and career

Egeblad attended the University of Copenhagen where she earned a bachelor’s degree in medicine, a master’s degree in human biology and a Ph.D. in cancer biology. Following her PhD, she trained as a postdoctoral fellow at University of California, San Francisco [1] where she worked with Zena Werb. [2] In 2009, she established her own lab at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory where she worked until moving to Johns Hopkins School of Medicine as a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor in 2023. [1]

Research

Egeblad's research is centered on understanding how the body’s immune response influences cancer progression, metastasis, and therapy outcomes. While at the University of California, San Francisco, Egeblad used mouse models to research the cancerous tumor microenvironment, focusing on the contribution of the innate immune system and matrix metalloproteinases. [3] Egeblad also co-developed a technique of intravital imaging, using a 2-photon microscope and silicone window implant to capture immune cell behavior in real time. [4] [5]

After she moved to Cold Spring Harbor she continued to study the tumor microenvironment, foscusing on the interactions between cancer cells and their surrounding stromal cells. [6] Her work has helped define the mechanisms by which neutrophils induce the progression of cancer and its metastasis. [7]

Honors and awards

In 2017 Egeblad received the Pershing Square Sohn Prize from the Sohn Conference Foundation. [8] She received the Suffrage Science award from her mentor Marja Jäättelä  [ fi ] in 2018. [9] [10]

Selected publications

References

  1. 1 2 Weder, Annika (2023-06-27). "Mikala Egeblad wants to put the brakes on cancer progression". Johns Hopkins University. Retrieved 2025-06-15.
  2. Egeblad, Mikala; Coussens, Lisa M.; Weaver, Valerie M. (2020-08-03). "Zena Werb 1945–2020". Nature Cancer. 1 (8): 753–754. doi:10.1038/s43018-020-0101-z. ISSN   2662-1347.
  3. Egeblad, Mikala; Werb, Zena (2002). "New functions for the matrix metalloproteinases in cancer progression". Nature Reviews Cancer. 2 (3): 161–174. doi:10.1038/nrc745. ISSN   1474-175X.
  4. Ewald, Andrew J.; Werb, Zena; Egeblad, Mikala (2011). "Preparation of Mice for Long-Term Intravital Imaging of the Mammary Gland: FIGURE 1". Cold Spring Harbor Protocols. 2011 (2): pdb.prot5562. doi:10.1101/pdb.prot5562. ISSN   1940-3402. PMC   3531961 . PMID   21285262.
  5. Egeblad, Mikala; Ewald, Andrew J.; Askautrud, Hanne A.; Truitt, Morgan L.; Welm, Bryan E.; Bainbridge, Emma; Peeters, George; Krummel, Matthew F.; Werb, Zena (2008-09-26). "Visualizing stromal cell dynamics in different tumor microenvironments by spinning disk confocal microscopy". Disease Models & Mechanisms. 1 (2–3): 155–167. doi:10.1242/dmm.000596. ISSN   1754-8403. PMC   2562195 . PMID   19048079.
  6. Nakasone, Elizabeth S.; Askautrud, Hanne A.; Kees, Tim; Park, Jae-Hyun; Plaks, Vicki; Ewald, Andrew J.; Fein, Miriam; Rasch, Morten G.; Tan, Ying-Xim; Qiu, Jing; Park, Juwon; Sinha, Pranay; Bissell, Mina J.; Frengen, Eirik; Werb, Zena (2012-04-17). "Imaging Tumor-Stroma Interactions during Chemotherapy Reveals Contributions of the Microenvironment to Resistance". Cancer Cell. 21 (4): 488–503. doi:10.1016/j.ccr.2012.02.017. ISSN   1535-6108. PMC   3332002 . PMID   22516258.
  7. Park, Juwon; Wysocki, Robert W.; Amoozgar, Zohreh; Maiorino, Laura; Fein, Miriam R.; Jorns, Julie; Schott, Anne F.; Kinugasa-Katayama, Yumi; Lee, Youngseok; Won, Nam Hee; Nakasone, Elizabeth S.; Hearn, Stephen A.; Küttner, Victoria; Qiu, Jing; Almeida, Ana S. (2016-10-19). "Cancer cells induce metastasis-supporting neutrophil extracellular DNA traps". Science Translational Medicine. 8 (361). doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.aag1711. ISSN   1946-6234. PMC   5550900 . PMID   27798263.
  8. "Mikala Egeblad". Pershing Square Philanthropies. Retrieved 2025-06-15.
  9. "Life Sciences 2018: Nomination and Acceptance Speeches". Suffrage Science. 2018-06-06. Retrieved 2025-06-15.
  10. Alfano, Andrea (2018-06-08). "Suffrage Science award to Mikala Egeblad". Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Retrieved 2025-06-15.