Rosalie Sears

• Professor of Molecular and Medical Genetics, Co-Director, Brenden-Colson Center for Pancreatic Care, Knight Cancer Institute, School of Medicine at the Oregon Health & Sciences University

Dr. Sears received her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Reed College (1986), Portland Oregon.  She received her Ph.D. in Cell Biology from Vanderbilt University (1993), Nashville Tennessee, and conducted her post-doctoral studies at Duke University in the Genetics Department.  Dr. Sears is a full professor in the Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics at Oregon Health & Science University.  She is Co-Director of the Brenden-Colson Center for Pancreatic Care and the Inaugural Krista L. Lake Chair in Cancer Research.  Dr. Sears is also a senior member in the Knight Cancer Institute.  She has received funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation, as well as several other private foundations.  She has received both research and business innovation awards in the areas of cancer biology, therapeutics, and technology advancement.  Dr. Sears’ research expertise is in cancer systems biology focused on dynamic regulation of cellular signaling pathways that control tumor cell phenotype and tumor-stromal cell cross-talk underlying tumor fitness. Her lab uses complex patient-derived 3D bioprinted tumor models, human tumor xenografts, and genetically engineered mouse tumor models to reveal underlying tumor biology and mechanisms of drug resistance.