Teresa Bhatt

Teresa Bhatt has focused on the role of paracrine Hedgehog signaling in pancreatic cancer desmoplasia, demonstrating that tumor-derived Hedgehog ligands activate stromal fibroblasts to create the dense desmoplastic stroma characteristic of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Her research showed that Hedgehog-driven stromal activation paradoxically both promotes tumor progression through growth factor signaling and restricts drug delivery through physical barrier formation. She contributed to understanding why Hedgehog inhibition alone failed in pancreatic cancer clinical trials by revealing stromal-restraint functions. Her work on stroma-modulating strategies has informed combination approaches to improve drug penetration in PDAC.