Antje Schaefer

Dr. Antje Schaefer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). Her research focuses on mechanisms driving gastric and pancreatic cancer growth and therapy resistance, leveraging insights into RHO and RAS GTPases. She holds a PhD in Structural Biochemistry from the Max-Planck-Institute in Germany and conducted postdoctoral work at Sanquin Blood Institute in Amsterdam. Her expertise includes multidisciplinary approaches such as functional genomics, proteomics, and patient-derived organoids.

Dr. Schaefer’s research interests center on RHO and RAS GTPase dysfunction in cancer, particularly their roles in therapy resistance and oncogenesis. Key achievements include identifying RHOA mutations as drivers of gastric cancer and elucidating RHO-dependent mechanisms in leukocyte migration. Her work has been recognized with awards like the Sanquin Science Award and a Sanquin Blood Foundation Grant.

Her lab, part of MCW Cancer Center, collaborates across disciplines to develop precision therapies for lethal cancers. Ongoing studies explore RHOA-driven signaling pathways and combination therapies to combat treatment resistance in pancreatic and gastric cancers.