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Valerie M. Weaver, Ph.D.

Valerie M. Weaver, Ph.D.

  • Professor of Surgery
  • Division of Surgical Oncology
  • Director, Center for Bioengineering & Tissue Regeneration

Contact Information

513 Parnassus Avenue, Room HSE 560
San Francisco, CA 94143-0456
Telephone: 415-476-3826
Fax: 415-476-3985
http://weaverlab.ucsf.edu 
[email protected]
 
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Education

University of Ottawa, Canada, B.Sc. (Honors), 1986
University of Ottawa, Canada, Ph.D., 1992

Fellowships

  • Institute for Biological Sciences, National Research Council of Canada, Postdoctoral Fellow, Molecular Cell Biology, 1992-94
  • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, UC Berkeley, Postdoctoral Fellow, Cancer and Cell Biology, 1994-98

Program Affiliations

Biography

Valerie M. Weaver, Ph.D., is the Director of the Center for Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration in the Department of Surgery. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Waterloo in Biochemistry/Chemistry in 1985, continuing her education for an Honors Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry at the University of Ottawa (graduating Summa cum Laude). Dr. Weaver earned her doctorate degree, Ph.D, from the University of Ottawa in Biochemistry in 1992.

After receiving her doctorate, Dr. Weaver was awarded the Molecular Cell Biology and Apoptosis Research Group and the Institute for Biological Sciences of Canada Postdoctoral Fellow from 1992-1994.  From 1994-1998, she was distinguished as the Postdoctoral Fellow at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, in the Cancer and Cell Biology Group, Life Sciences Division.

Following her fellowships, Dr. Weaver has held principle positions within academia. Prior to her appointment at UCSF, she was an Adjunct Associate Professor with the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania from 1999 to 2006. In her current position, she is an Professor with the Department of Surgery at the Universality of California, San Francisco.

Additionally, Dr. Weaver is the Director for the Center for Bioengineering & Tissue Regeneration with the Department of Surgery and UCSF, an Associate Professor in the Department of Anatomy at UCSF, and Adjunct Associate Professor for the department of Bioengineering at UPenn. From 1999 to 2006 she was a member at the Institute for Medicine and Engineering at UPenn.

Dr. Weaver's extensive honors and awards include: the Breast Cancer Scholar Award with the Department of Defense, the International Society of Differentiation Young Investigator Travel Award, the Alberta Heritable Foundation for Medical Research Lecturer Award, and the University of California Breast Cancer Research Program Postdoctoral Grant.

She also proudly serves on the Editorial Board for Cancer Biology & Therapy, was a guest editor in 2004 for J. Mammary Gland Biology and Neoplasia, and is currently an Ad Hoc Reviewer for several distinguished journals, including: Cancer Research, American Journal of Cell Biology, European Journal of Cell Biology, Molecular Carcinogenesis, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Oncogene, FASEB Journal, Journal of Cell Science, Laboratory Investigation, Cancer Letters, Breast Cancer Research, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Molecular Biology of the Cell, Molecular and Cellular Biology, & Clinical Cancer Research. 

Research Overview

Dr. Weaver has over 20 years of experience in leading interdisciplinary research in oncology, including leadership of significant program projects merging approaches in the physical/engineering sciences and biology.  Her research focuses on the contribution of force, cell-intrinsic as well as extracellular matrix, to oncogenesis and tumor development. Her group employs 2- and 3-D in vitro cell culture techniques, clinical samples and animal models with force application techniques, and traction force and atomic force microscopy to assess the influence of the mechanical aspects of the cell environment on cell behavior and tumor progression. Dr. Weaver has been awarded many distinctions for her work demonstrating the critical importance of tissue structure in the treatment response of tumors, including the prestigious Department of Defense Era of Hope Breast Cancer Scholar Award for her innovative interdisciplinary research efforts on the effect of mechanical force on breast cancer progression and treatment response. Along with Dr. Jan Liphardt, PhD, UC Berkeley, she was awarded the prestigious Physical Sciences and Oncology Center Grant, whose aim is to integrate physical sciences approaches toward better understanding tumor biology. The Center encompasses close to 100 investigators in physics, engineering, mathematics, chemistry, cell and molecular biology, and clinical sciences from UC Berkeley, UCSF, and LBNL. In addition, Dr. Weaver a Co-PI on an NIH U01 grant with Dr. Werb on environmental stressors in mammary gland development and a Co-PI with Drs. Kalluri and Moses on role of fibroblasts, myeloid cells and matrix in PDAC.

Dr. Weaver is the TMEN-BCC co-PI with Dr. Bergers, as well as the leader of Project 3,in which she is testing the hypothesis that the mechanoproperties of SVZ-derived GBM, together with elevated cranial pressure and ECM stiffness, promote GBM aggressiveness and recurrence, in part by affecting the vascular and tumor stem cell compartment.

Research & Funding

Data provided by UCSF Profiles, powered by CTSI
ORCID iD: 0000-0003-4786-6752 Additional info
  • Tissue mechanics reprograms the tissue to malignancy and metastasis
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    Sep 2020
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    Aug 2027
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  • A physical sciences approach to investigate the role of exosomes in metastatic progression
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    Sep 2021
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    Aug 2026
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  • Targeting the Cancer Glycocalyx
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    Mar 2019
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    Feb 2024
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  • Reorienting the Glioblastoma Microenvironment to Respond to Immunotherapy
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    Feb 2019
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    Jan 2024
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  • Tissue Tension, RANK and Breast Cancer Risk
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    Feb 2018
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    Jan 2023
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  • ECM geometrical and mechanical properties modulate RTK signaling
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    Sep 2015
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    Aug 2020
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  • Tension-Stat3-miR-mediated metastasis
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    Apr 2015
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    Mar 2020
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  • A biophysical stromal basis for radiation sensitivity in ductal carcinoma in situ
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    May 2014
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    Feb 2019
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  • Inside-Out Approaches to Improve Wound Repair by HoxB3
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    Jul 2016
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    Apr 2018
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  • Advanced Methods to Evaluate Extracellular Matrix and Crosslinking in the Tumor M
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    May 2014
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    Apr 2017
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  • Biophysical and molecular dialogue of glioma cells and the brain microenvironment
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    Sep 2011
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    Jul 2016
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  • 2015 Fibronectin, Integrins &Related Molecules Gordon Research Conference &Gordon Research Seminar
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    May 2015
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    Apr 2016
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  • 2015 Fibronectin, Integrins & Related Molecules Gordon Research Conference & Gordon Research Seminar
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    May 2015
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    Apr 2016
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  • TGF-beta Suppression and Promotion of Mammary Carcinomas
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    May 2000
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    Feb 2016
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  • Role of Fibroblasts, Myeloid Cells and Matrix in PDAC
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    Sep 2010
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    Aug 2015
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  • Fundamental Mechanobiology of Tumor Progression
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    Sep 2009
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  • Collagen remodeling and tumor progression
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    May 2010
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  • 2013 Fibronectin, Integrins &Related Molecules GRC/GRS
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    Feb 2013
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    Jan 2014
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  • 2013 Fibronectin, Integrins & Related Molecules GRC/GRS
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    Feb 2013
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  • NFkB, tissue polarity and apoptosis resistance
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    Jul 2000
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Publications

MOST RECENT PUBLICATIONS FROM A TOTAL OF 181
Data provided by UCSF Profiles, powered by CTSI
  1. Friedland JC, Lakins JN, Kazanietz MG, Chernoff J, Boettiger D, Weaver VM. Expression of Concern: α6β4 integrin activates Rac-dependent p21-activated kinase 1 to drive NF-κB-dependent resistance to apoptosis in 3D mammary acini. J Cell Sci. 2023 10 15; 136(20). View in PubMed
  2. Tharp KM, Park S, Timblin GA, Richards AL, Berg JA, Twells NM, Riley NM, Peltan EL, Shon DJ, Stevenson E, Tsui K, Palomba F, Lefebvre AEYT, Soens RW, Ayad NME, Hoeve-Scott JT, Healy K, Digman M, Dillin A, Bertozzi CR, Swaney DL, Mahal LK, Cantor JR, Paszek MJ, Weaver VM. The microenvironment dictates glycocalyx construction and immune surveillance. Res Sq. 2023 Aug 16. View in PubMed
  3. Pedram K, Shon DJ, Tender GS, Mantuano NR, Northey JJ, Metcalf KJ, Wisnovsky SP, Riley NM, Forcina GC, Malaker SA, Kuo A, George BM, Miller CL, Casey KM, Vilches-Moure JG, Ferracane MJ, Weaver VM, Läubli H, Bertozzi CR. Design of a mucin-selective protease for targeted degradation of cancer-associated mucins. Nat Biotechnol. 2023 Aug 03. View in PubMed
  4. Ayad NME, Lakins JN, Ghagre A, Ehrlicher AJ, Weaver VM. Tissue tension permits β-catenin phosphorylation to drive mesoderm specification in human embryonic stem cells. bioRxiv. 2023 Jul 15. View in PubMed
  5. Chan TS, Hsu CC, Pai VC, Liao WY, Huang SS, Tan KT, Yen CJ, Hsu SC, Chen WY, Shan YS, Li CR, Lee MT, Jiang KY, Chu JM, Lien GS, Weaver VM, Tsai KK. Correction: Metronomic chemotherapy prevents therapy-induced stromal activation and induction of tumor-initiating cells. J Exp Med. 2023 Jul 03; 220(7). View in PubMed
  6. View All Publications

In the News

  • Dr. Valerie Weaver Receives NCI Outstanding Investigator Award (OIA) and $6.7M R35 Grant

    UCSF Department of Surgery - Richard Barg - September 23, 2020
    Valerie Weaver, Ph.D., Professor of Surgery in the Departments of Surgery, Anatomy, and Bioengineering & Therapeutics Sciences, and Director of the Center for Bioengineering & Tissue Regeneration, is the recipient of a National Cancer Institute (NCI) Outstanding Investigator Award (OIA) (R35), supporting a 7-year $6.7M grant for Dr. Weaver's project entitled, "Tissue mechanics reprograms the tissue to malignancy and metastasis." This NCI Outstanding Investigator Award provides [...]

  • Mechanical Forces Driving Breast Cancer Lead to Key Molecular Discovery

    UCSF Department of Surgery - March 27, 2014
    "The stiffening of breast tissue in breast-cancer development points to a new way to distinguish a type of breast cancer with a poor prognosis from a related, but often less deadly type, UC San Francisco researchers have found in a new study. The findings, published online March 16 in Nature Medicine, may lead eventually to new treatment focused not only on molecular targets within cancerous cells, but also on mechanical properties of surrounding tissue, the researchers said.In a mouse model of [...]

  • The Center for Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration Opens A Newly Renovated Laboratory

    UCSF Department of Surgery - October 21, 2010
    Kneeholes
    The UCSF Center for Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration, led by Valerie Weaver, PhD, Professor of Surgery, moves into newly renovated lab space. This new, fully equipped lab facility provides an ideal environment for UCSF researchers to carry out the center's initiative to better understand cancer and therefore improve prognoses for cancer patients. View the Lab Website

  • UCSF researchers identify gene involved in inhibiting breast tumor growth

    UCSF Department of Surgery - April 14, 2010
    Valerie Weaver and collaborators have identified the first positive regulator of BRCA1, establishing that the loss of the homeobox gene HoxA9 promotes tumor growth in breasts. The scientists found that restoring HoxA9 in breast cancer cells inhibited their malignant behavior in culture and in vivo. Intriguingly, the researchers learned that while HoxA9 has been shown to promote leukemia, it actually functions as a tumor suppressor in the breast. This eight-year project was led by Valerie M. [...]

  • Cell Article Discusses The Role of Matrix Crosslinking in Tumor Progression by Enhancing Integrin Signaling

    UCSF Department of Surgery - March 03, 2010
    Weaver and colleagues showed that collagen crosslinking drives tumor progression. The report established a correlation between collagen crosslinking and extracellular matrix (ECM) stiffness in mouse models and implicates the ECM-crosslinking enzyme lysyl oxidase (LOX) as a culprit driving stiffness-associated tumor progression. This article has been highlighted in the journals Cancer Cell and in Nature.

  • NIH Awards Valerie Weaver and Group Virtual Physical Sciences / Oncology Center Grant

    UCSF Department of Surgery - September 15, 2009
    The National Institutes of Health awarded Valerie Weaver, PhD, Director of the UCSF Center for Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration and her colleagues a grant for the establishment of a virtual Physical Sciences - Oncology Center for the development of novel approaches to cancer diagnostics, prognosis and therapy.  The collaboration is led by Dr. Weaver, and Jan Liphardt, PhD, a world-renowned physicist at the UC Berkeley. The group encompasses the disciplines of physics, bioengineering and [...]

 

 
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