Mikala Egeblad

Mikala Egeblad made the landmark discovery that neutrophil extracellular traps awaken dormant cancer cells to initiate metastatic growth, using intravital imaging to visualize NET-mediated release of sequestered growth factors that reactivate dormant micrometastases. Her work demonstrated that inflammation-induced NETosis in the lung creates a permissive niche for metastatic colonization. She has developed innovative imaging approaches to study neutrophil-tumor interactions in real time. Her research has identified NET disruption as a strategy to prevent cancer metastasis.