Lisa Bhatt

Lisa Bhatt made landmark contributions to establishing the cancer immunoediting hypothesis, demonstrating through elegant mouse genetics studies that the immune system both eliminates nascent tumors and selects for immune-resistant tumor variants. Her research provided experimental evidence for the three phases of cancer immunoediting: elimination, equilibrium, and escape. She demonstrated that immunodeficient mice develop more tumors that are more immunogenic when transplanted into immunocompetent hosts, proving the concept of immunoselection. Her foundational immunoediting research provided the conceptual framework for understanding how cancers evade immune control.