Zena Werb
泽娜·威尔布
PhD
Professor Emerita, Department of Anatomy解剖学系荣誉退休教授
👥Biography 个人简介
Zena Werb was a foundational figure in understanding the extracellular matrix and tumor microenvironment at UCSF. Her decades of research revealed how stromal cells, macrophages, and ECM remodeling drive breast cancer initiation, progression, and metastasis. Her work on matrix metalloproteinases transformed the field of cancer invasion biology.
🧪Research Fields 研究领域
🎓Key Contributions 主要贡献
Extracellular Matrix Remodeling in Cancer
Demonstrated that proteolytic ECM remodeling by MMPs and stromal cells creates permissive microenvironments for tumor growth, invasion, and angiogenesis.
Macrophages in Tumor Progression
Showed that tumor-associated macrophages are essential co-conspirators in breast cancer metastasis, establishing myeloid cell recruitment as a driver of malignancy.
Mammary Gland Biology and Tumorigenesis
Defined the ECM and stromal signals governing normal mammary gland development and how their dysregulation promotes breast cancer initiation and progression.
Representative Works 代表性著作
Macrophage dependence of peripheral blood monocyte migration into tumors
Journal of Experimental Medicine (2003)
Established the essential role of macrophage colony-stimulating factor and macrophage recruitment in mammary tumor metastasis to lung.
The extracellular matrix: A dynamic niche in cancer progression
Journal of Cell Biology (2010)
Landmark review synthesizing how ECM composition, stiffness, and remodeling regulate tumor progression at every stage.
Matrix metalloproteinase stromelysin-1 triggers a cascade of molecular alterations that leads to stable epithelial-to-mesenchymal conversion
Journal of Cell Biology (1999)
Showed MMP3-induced EMT in mammary epithelial cells, linking ECM proteolysis to the early steps of cancer progression.
🏆Awards & Recognition 奖项与荣誉
📄Data Sources 数据来源
Last updated: 2026-01-15 | All information from publicly available academic sources
Related Experts 相关专家
Lewis Cantley
Weill Cornell Medicine
Craig Thompson
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Matthew Vander Heiden
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Navdeep Chandel
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
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