Thea Tlsty

Dr. Thea Tlsty is a Professor at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine, Department of Pathology. With over 25 years of experience in cancer biology, she leads multidisciplinary research on epithelial-stromal interactions, chronic inflammation, and cellular plasticity in carcinogenesis. Her lab developed the first biomarkers for ductal carcinoma in situ risk stratification and discovered rare pluripotent cells in normal tissues with implications for metaplastic cancers.

• Education:
  • BS in Zoology (University of South Florida, 1973)
  • PhD in Molecular Biology (Washington University, 1980)
  • Predoctoral Fellow (Washington University, 1976-1980)
  • Postdoctoral Fellow & Senior Research Associate (Stanford University, 1981-1985)

Dr. Tlsty's research focuses on:

• Stromal-epithelial stress response mechanisms
• Chronic inflammation's role in cancer
• CD36 repression in high mammographic density
• Pluripotent cell biology
• Multi-investigator grant projects

Her 15 most recent publications highlight trends in proteomics, spatial transcriptomics, and multi-omics integration to study tumor microenvironment dynamics, particularly in breast, esophageal, and colorectal cancers.

Scientific Awards:

• Cancer Research UK Grand Challenge Grant (£20M)
• NCI Outstanding Investigator Award
• Blaffer Distinguished Lectures (MD Anderson)
• Nakahara Award (Princess Takamatsu Foundation)
• KOMEN Scholar & AVON Scholar
• Elected AAAS Fellow
• NCI Knudson Award

Dr. Tlsty has received continuous NIH funding since 1987, including ongoing R35 grant (R35CA197694) for studying stress-associated cellular plasticity. Her lab's translational insights bridge basic discoveries with clinical applications for cancer prevention and therapy.