Thea Tlsty

Last updated
Thea D Tlsty
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater University of South Florida (BS)
Washington University in St. Louis (PhD)
Known forBreast cancer research
Scientific career
Institutions

Thea D. Tlsty is an American pathologist and professor of pathology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). [1] She is known for her research in cancer biology and her involvement in the discovery of cells that may be at the origin of metaplastic cancer, an invasive form of breast cancer. [2]

Contents

Education

Tlsty earned her bachelor's degree in zoology from the University of South Florida, Tampa in 1973. She began her doctoral studies in molecular biology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill before transferring to Washington University in St. Louis, where she received her PhD in 1980. [3]

Career

Tlsty stayed at Washington University for a short postdoctoral fellowship position, until 1981. She then joined Stanford University as a postdoctoral fellow/senior research associate in the department of biological sciences. In 1985, Tlsty returned to the University of North Carolina as an Assistant/Associate Professor of Pathology at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Since 1994, Tlsty has been Professor of Pathology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She is Director of the Center for Translational Research in the Molecular Genetics of Cancer. [3]

Research

Tlsty led an eight-year research study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute in 2010, which established a means to predict whether women with early stage breast cancer might develop more serious tumors, using "biomarkers" (biological indicators in the body) to determine cancer risk. [4] [5] Tlsty also led research into 'pluripotent' stem cells in breast tissue, seeking to identify if these caused tumors. [6] This research had looked at wound cells in breast tissue, and identified 'repair cells' that could transform into a range of other cells, including neurons, bone and cartilage [7] [8] — with the potential therefore to also treat cancers and other diseases. [9] [10]

In 2015, she co-authored research into the use of 3D tissue culture models to study breast cancer cell generation [11] and later collaborated with Adam Engler of the University of California, San Diego in developing devices to test how strongly cells attach to tumor tissue, exploring if adhesion strength could be an accurate marker of metastatic cells. [12]

Tlsty was awarded a 2019 Cancer Research UK Grand Challenge award of £20 Million (U.S. $26 million) to support a research project in collaboration with scientists from the UK, Canada, and Israel. [13] [14] The project will focus on understanding how chronic inflammation contributes to cancer. [15] [16] [17]

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References

  1. ↑ "UCSF Departments of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine | About | Faculty | Thea Tlsty, PhD". pathology.ucsf.edu. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
  2. ↑ "Thea D. Tlsty, PhD | UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center". cancer.ucsf.edu. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
  3. 1 2 "Thea D. Tlsty, PhD - Principal Investigator". Tlsty Lab @ UCSF. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  4. ↑ Allday, Erin (29 April 2010). "UCSF find predicts severity of breast cancer". SFGate. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  5. ↑ Kerlikowske, K, Tlsty T (2010-05-05). "Biomarker Expression and Risk of Subsequent Tumors After Initial Ductal Carcinoma In Situ Diagnosis". Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 102 (9): 627–637. doi:10.1093/jnci/djq101. PMC   2864293 . PMID   20427430.
  6. ↑ Roy, S.; Gascard, P.; Dumont, N.; Zhao, J.; Pan, D.; Petrie, S.; Margeta, M.; Tlsty, T. D. (4 March 2013). "Rare somatic cells from human breast tissue exhibit extensive lineage plasticity". PNAS. 110 (12): 4598–4603. Bibcode:2013PNAS..110.4598R. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1218682110 . PMC   3607035 . PMID   23487770.
  7. ↑ Hughes, Virginia (10 July 2013). "Cells That Don't Belong". National Geographic. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  8. ↑ Heaven, Douglas (13 March 2013). "Are breast milk stem cells the real deal for medicine?". New Scientist. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  9. ↑ Leuty, Ron (4 March 2013). "UCSF discovery a potential "earthquake" for stem cell therapies". San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  10. ↑ Hughes, Virginia (July 2013). "The Rise of the Multi-Talented Adult Stem Cell". Smithsonian. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  11. ↑ Kurup, Abhishek; Ravindranath, Shreyas; Tran, Tim; Keating, Mark; Gascard, Philippe; Valdevit, Lorenzo; Tlsty, Thea D.; Botvinick, Elliot L. (16 October 2015). "Novel insights from 3D models: the pivotal role of physical symmetry in epithelial organization". Scientific Reports. 5: 15153. Bibcode:2015NatSR...515153K. doi:10.1038/srep15153. PMC   4608012 . PMID   26472542.
  12. ↑ "Cell 'stickiness' could indicate metastatic potential". Phys.Org. February 28, 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  13. ↑ "Professor Thea Tlsty". Cancer Research UK. 2019-01-23. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
  14. ↑ "$26 Million 'Grand Challenge' Project Will Probe Role of Inflammation in Cancer". $26 Million ‘Grand Challenge’ Project Will Probe Role of Inflammation in Cancer | UC San Francisco. 23 January 2019. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  15. ↑ "Q & A with Thea Tlsty, PhD, on Leading International Team to Study Inflammation and Cancer | UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center". cancer.ucsf.edu. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
  16. ↑ "Microbiome, inflammation and mutations: US researchers win £60M in Cancer Research UK grants to lead 'grand challenges'", Endpoint News
  17. ↑ "Cancer Research UK tackles global cancer challenges with £60 million in funding", Cancer Research UK
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