Cassandra Belair

Cassandra Belair, PhD, is a Researcher in the Department of Urology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine. With a doctorate in Molecular and Environmental Toxicology (University of Wisconsin, 1997) and a BS in Biochemistry/Biophysics (SUNY Plattsburgh, 1990), her career focuses on microRNA mechanisms in cancer biology and immunology.

• Education
  • BS: Biochemistry/Biophysics, SUNY Plattsburgh (1990)
  • PhD: Molecular and Environmental Toxicology, University of Wisconsin (1997)

Her research explores microRNA regulation in cancer progression, immune evasion, and cellular stress responses. Key projects include: studying PVRL2 immune checkpoint mechanisms in tumors (2024), mechanosensitive signaling in osteocytes, and microRNA biomarkers for prostate cancer risk stratification. She leads NIH-funded zebrafish toxicology research (TCDD resistance) and contributes to cancer immunotherapy and stem cell differentiation studies.

Recent publications (2019-2024) highlight her work in exosomal PD-L1 suppression for cancer immunity, miR-185-5p as a prostate cancer biomarker, and TGFβ/Wnt signaling integration in bone cells. Her collaborations include Robert Blelloch, Tamara Alliston, and Matthew Cooperberg at UCSF.

Belair's research spans molecular oncology, immunology, and developmental biology. She has published extensively on microRNA functions in neoplasms (prostate cancer, leukemia), cell biology, and mechanotransduction, with high-impact work on exosomal signaling (631+ mentions).