Laurence Jurasz

Laurence Jurasz has elucidated the complex relationship between platelets and VEGF in cancer, demonstrating that platelets sequester and release VEGF and other angiogenic factors in a regulated manner that promotes tumor angiogenesis and metastasis. Her research showed that platelet alpha granules contain both pro-angiogenic and anti-angiogenic factors whose differential release is regulated by tumor-derived signals. She has contributed to understanding how anti-platelet therapies might modulate tumor angiogenesis. Her work reveals platelets as active regulators of the tumor vascular microenvironment.