Rosemary Akhurst

Rosemary Akhurst has defined the dual role of TGF-beta in cancer, demonstrating through genetic models that TGF-beta is a potent tumor suppressor in early-stage disease through growth inhibition and apoptosis induction, but converts to a tumor promoter in late-stage disease by driving EMT, immune evasion, and metastasis. Her research identified genetic modifiers that influence the TGF-beta tumor suppressor-to-promoter switch, including polymorphisms in TGFBR1 that alter cancer susceptibility. She showed that the timing of TGF-beta pathway intervention is critical, as early inhibition may promote tumor development while late inhibition can block metastasis. Her work has been essential for designing context-appropriate TGF-beta therapeutic strategies.