Petra den Hollander

Petra den Hollander is an Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Her research focuses on understanding the aggressiveness of triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC), identifying resistance mechanisms, and developing targeted therapies using single-cell 'omics' techniques. She has held prior roles as an Instructor at MD Anderson (2013-2022) following postdoctoral training at MD Anderson Cancer Center and Baylor College of Medicine.

• PhD, University of Texas (2006)
• MSc, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (2002)
• Postdoctoral Fellow, MD Anderson (2010-2013)
• Postdoctoral Associate, Baylor College of Medicine (2007-2010)

Her work explores the intersection of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), cancer stem cells (CSCs), and metastasis, with emphasis on signaling cross-talk (e.g., FOXC2, p38 MAP kinase) and gene regulatory networks. She co-developed the EMTome resource for pan-cancer analysis and investigates vimentin phosphorylation's role in maintaining stemness and metastatic properties.

Scientific awards include the ITERT Outstanding Mentorship Award (2020), finalist status for the DFI Mentored Junior Faculty Fellowship (2013), and Scholar in Training Award (2001). She contributes to preclinical research on TNBC prevention and small molecule inhibitors targeting EMT/CSCs, funded by R01 grants. Collaborations with the Mani Lab and expertise in high-throughput sequencing techniques further define her research program.