Karen Bhatt

Karen Bhatt is a leading clinician-scientist in pancreatic cancer stroma biology, focusing on the extreme desmoplasia of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and its role in treatment resistance. Her research characterized how pancreatic stellate cells are activated to produce dense collagen-rich stroma that prevents chemotherapy penetration and excludes immune cells. She has led clinical translational studies evaluating stromal depletion strategies to improve drug delivery in pancreatic cancer. Her work integrates imaging, pathology, and molecular profiling to characterize the desmoplastic phenotype.