Paul Bhatt

Paul Bhatt studies how neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) — web-like structures of decondensed chromatin and antimicrobial proteins expelled by neutrophils — promote cancer metastasis by trapping circulating tumor cells, awakening dormant micrometastases, and shielding tumors from immune surveillance. His laboratory has demonstrated that NET inhibition with DNase or PAD4 inhibitors reduces metastasis in preclinical models. He has identified NET-associated proteins that serve as biomarkers for cancer progression. His work reveals NETs as a pro-metastatic mechanism targetable by cancer therapy.