Stephanie Bald

Stephanie Bald revealed that NK cells serve as critical sentinels against metastatic dissemination through DNAM-1 and NKG2D-mediated recognition of circulating tumor cells, and that platelet cloaking of tumor cells shields them from NK cell-mediated killing during hematogenous spread. Her work demonstrated that TRAIL expressed on liver-resident NK cells eliminates metastatic tumor cells expressing death receptors DR4 and DR5, providing a mechanistic basis for organ-specific metastatic patterns. She investigates strategies to enhance NK cell patrolling and tumor cell recognition in the pre-metastatic niche.