
Professor
Surgery
+1 415 476-3826
Valerie Weaver, PhD focuses on several areas of human embryonic stem cell development and architecture.
Publications
Tissue mechanics in tumor heterogeneity and aggression.
Trends in cancer
NCOR2 represses MHC class I molecule expression to drive metastatic progression of breast cancer.
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
Tumor Cell Spatial Organization Directs EGFR/RAS/RAF Pathway Primary Therapy Resistance through YAP Signaling.
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
Tension-induced organelle stress: an emerging target in fibrosis.
Trends in pharmacological sciences
Forcing the code: tension modulates signaling to drive morphogenesis and malignancy.
Genes & development
Differential stiffness between brain vasculature and parenchyma promotes metastatic infiltration through vessel co-option.
Nature cell biology
nSMase2-mediated exosome secretion shapes the tumor microenvironment to immunologically support pancreatic cancer.
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
Imaging the extracellular matrix in live tissues and organisms with a glycan-binding fluorophore.
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
Cancer-stromal cell interactions in breast cancer brain metastases induce glycocalyx-mediated resistance to HER2-targeting therapies.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Asymmetric crowders and membrane morphology at the nexus of intracellular trafficking and oncology.
Mechanobiology in medicine
Free energy calculations for membrane morphological transformations and insights to physical biology and oncology.
Methods in enzymology
Assessing Heterogeneity in the N-Telopeptides of Type I Collagen by Mass Spectrometry.
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
Mechanosensitive hormone signaling promotes mammary progenitor expansion and breast cancer risk.
Cell stem cell
Design of a mucin-selective protease for targeted degradation of cancer-associated mucins.
Nature biotechnology
Tissue tension permits β-catenin phosphorylation to drive mesoderm specification in human embryonic stem cells.
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
A convolutional neural network STIFMap reveals associations between stromal stiffness and EMT in breast cancer.
Nature communications
Uptake of tumor-derived microparticles induces metabolic reprogramming of macrophages in the early metastatic lung.
Cell reports
Stiff matrix induces exosome secretion to promote tumour growth.
Nature cell biology
Programming the Self-Organization of Endothelial Cells into Perfusable Microvasculature.
Tissue engineering. Part A
Extracellular Matrix Glycation and Crosslinking in Mammary Tumor Progression.
Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)
Novel cryo-tomography workflow reveals nanometer-scale responses of epithelial cells to matrix stiffness and dimensionality.
Molecular biology of the cell
Low lamin A levels enhance confined cell migration and metastatic capacity in breast cancer.
Oncogene
ECM dimensionality tunes actin tension to modulate endoplasmic reticulum function and spheroid phenotypes of mammary epithelial cells.
The EMBO journal
Immunosuppressive glycoproteins associate with breast tumor fibrosis and aggression.
Matrix biology plus
NCI's publication affiliation conundrum: Reframing innovation to incentivize an equitable path for advocate representation.
Translational oncology
Mechanobiology: forcing the second act.
Molecular biology of the cell
Autophagy in stromal fibroblasts promotes tumor desmoplasia and mammary tumorigenesis.
Genes & development
Tissue mechanics in stem cell fate, development, and cancer.
Developmental cell
EPH/EPHRIN regulates cellular organization by actomyosin contractility effects on cell contacts.
The Journal of cell biology
Adhesion-mediated mechanosignaling forces mitohormesis.
Cell metabolism
Single-cell transcriptome analysis defines heterogeneity of the murine pancreatic ductal tree.
eLife
Matrix compliance permits NF-κB activation to drive therapy resistance in breast cancer.
The Journal of experimental medicine
Improving DCIS diagnosis and predictive outcome by applying artificial intelligence.
Biochimica et biophysica acta. Reviews on cancer
Leveraging microenvironmental synthetic lethalities to treat cancer.
The Journal of clinical investigation
Membrane Tension Locks In Pluripotency.
Cell stem cell
Derivation of a nuclear heterogeneity image index to grade DCIS.
Computational and structural biotechnology journal
Proteoglycans as Mediators of Cancer Tissue Mechanics.
Frontiers in cell and developmental biology
Tumour-associated macrophages drive stromal cell-dependent collagen crosslinking and stiffening to promote breast cancer aggression.
Nature materials
Mechanical Tension Promotes Formation of Gastrulation-like Nodes and Patterns Mesoderm Specification in Human Embryonic Stem Cells.
Developmental cell
Stiff stroma increases breast cancer risk by inducing the oncogene ZNF217.
The Journal of clinical investigation
Zena Werb (1945-2020): Mourning the loss of a tissue microenvironment icon.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
In Memoriam - Zena Werb 1945-2020.
Journal of mammary gland biology and neoplasia
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma progression is restrained by stromal matrix.
The Journal of clinical investigation
Targeting acid ceramidase inhibits YAP/TAZ signaling to reduce fibrosis in mice.
Science translational medicine
Zena Werb 1945-2020.
Nature cancer
Fibrosis and cancer: A strained relationship.
Biochimica et biophysica acta. Reviews on cancer
A framework for advancing our understanding of cancer-associated fibroblasts.
Nature reviews. Cancer
Don't sugarcoat it: How glycocalyx composition influences cancer progression.
The Journal of cell biology
Patterning the Geometry of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Colonies on Compliant Substrates to Control Tissue-Level Mechanics.
Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE
Wnt4 from the Niche Controls the Mechano-Properties and Quiescent State of Muscle Stem Cells.
Cell stem cell
Tissue mechanics, an important regulator of development and disease.
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences
The Extracellular Matrix Modulates the Metastatic Journey.
Developmental cell
A tension-mediated glycocalyx-integrin feedback loop promotes mesenchymal-like glioblastoma.
Nature cell biology
Modeling Tissue Polarity in Context.
Journal of molecular biology
Fibronectin rescues estrogen receptor α from lysosomal degradation in breast cancer cells.
The Journal of cell biology
Compartment resolved proteomics reveals a dynamic matrisome in a biomechanically driven model of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.
Journal of immunology and regenerative medicine
The Physical and Biochemical Properties of the Extracellular Matrix Regulate Cell Fate.
Current topics in developmental biology
Feeling Stress: The Mechanics of Cancer Progression and Aggression.
Frontiers in cell and developmental biology
Antisecretory Factor-Mediated Inhibition of Cell Volume Dynamics Produces Antitumor Activity in Glioblastoma.
Molecular cancer research : MCR
Discoidin domain receptor 1 (DDR1) ablation promotes tissue fibrosis and hypoxia to induce aggressive basal-like breast cancers.
Genes & development
Tissue Force Programs Cell Fate and Tumor Aggression.
Cancer discovery
α5β1-Integrin promotes tension-dependent mammary epithelial cell invasion by engaging the fibronectin synergy site.
Molecular biology of the cell
Development of Aggressive Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinomas Depends on Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor Secretion in Carcinoma Cells.
Cancer immunology research
Cell and tissue mechanics: the new cell biology frontier.
Molecular biology of the cell
Visualizing dynamic microvillar search and stabilization during ligand detection by T cells.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
Physical and Chemical Gradients in the Tumor Microenvironment Regulate Tumor Cell Invasion, Migration, and Metastasis.
Cold Spring Harbor symposia on quantitative biology
Comprehensive characterization of DNA methylation changes in Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy.
PloS one
Integrin-mediated traction force enhances paxillin molecular associations and adhesion dynamics that increase the invasiveness of tumor cells into a three-dimensional extracellular matrix.
Molecular biology of the cell
Tissue mechanics regulate brain development, homeostasis and disease.
Journal of cell science
Force-dependent breaching of the basement membrane.
Matrix biology : journal of the International Society for Matrix Biology
Targeting the cancer-associated fibroblasts as a treatment in triple-negative breast cancer.
Oncotarget
From transformation to metastasis: deconstructing the extracellular matrix in breast cancer.
Cancer metastasis reviews
Metronomic chemotherapy prevents therapy-induced stromal activation and induction of tumor-initiating cells.
The Journal of experimental medicine
Tissue mechanics promote IDH1-dependent HIF1α-tenascin C feedback to regulate glioblastoma aggression.
Nature cell biology
Cellular adaptation to biomechanical stress across length scales in tissue homeostasis and disease.
Seminars in cell & developmental biology
Tissue Mechanics Orchestrate Wnt-Dependent Human Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation.
Cell stem cell
Visualizing mechanical modulation of nanoscale organization of cell-matrix adhesions.
Integrative biology : quantitative biosciences from nano to macro
Mechanical Control of Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transitions in Development and Cancer.
Annual review of cell and developmental biology
Site-Specific Modulation of Charge Controls the Structure and Stimulus Responsiveness of Intrinsically Disordered Peptide Brushes.
Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids
Genotype tunes pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tissue tension to induce matricellular fibrosis and tumor progression.
Nature medicine
Force Matters: Biomechanical Regulation of Cell Invasion and Migration in Disease.
Trends in cell biology
Loss of miR-203 regulates cell shape and matrix adhesion through ROBO1/Rac/FAK in response to stiffness.
The Journal of cell biology
Physiological ranges of matrix rigidity modulate primary mouse hepatocyte function in part through hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha.
Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.)
Tumor-induced solid stress activates β-catenin signaling to drive malignant behavior in normal, tumor-adjacent cells.
BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology
Microenvironment rigidity modulates responses to the HER2 receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor lapatinib via YAP and TAZ transcription factors.
Molecular biology of the cell
Monitoring developmental force distributions in reconstituted embryonic epithelia.
Methods (San Diego, Calif.)
Human breast cancer invasion and aggression correlates with ECM stiffening and immune cell infiltration.
Integrative biology : quantitative biosciences from nano to macro
Fighting the force: Potential of homeobox genes for tumor microenvironment regulation.
Biochimica et biophysica acta
Tumor mechanics and metabolic dysfunction.
Free radical biology & medicine
A 3D tension bioreactor platform to study the interplay between ECM stiffness and tumor phenotype.
Journal of biotechnology
Extracellular matrix assembly: a multiscale deconstruction.
Nature reviews. Molecular cell biology
The microenvironment matters.
Molecular biology of the cell
Force engages vinculin and promotes tumor progression by enhancing PI3K activation of phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5)-triphosphate.
Cancer research
Understanding tissue context influences on intratumour heterogeneity.
Nature cell biology
Deconstructing signaling in three dimensions.
Biochemistry
Tissue mechanics modulate microRNA-dependent PTEN expression to regulate malignant progression.
Nature medicine
Rapid disorganization of mechanically interacting systems of mammary acini.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Cell biology. Strength under tension.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
Stromally derived lysyl oxidase promotes metastasis of transforming growth factor-β-deficient mouse mammary carcinomas.
Cancer research
Collagen architecture in pregnancy-induced protection from breast cancer.
Journal of cell science
Oncogenic targeting of BRM drives malignancy through C/EBP�-dependent induction of a5 integrin.
Oncogene
YAP forces fibroblasts to feel the tension.
Nature cell biology
MT1-MMP-dependent control of skeletal stem cell commitment via a β1-integrin/YAP/TAZ signaling axis.
Developmental cell
A physical sciences network characterization of non-tumorigenic and metastatic cells.
Scientific reports
Molecular profiling of prostatic acinar morphogenesis identifies PDCD4 and KLF6 as tissue architecture-specific prognostic markers in prostate cancer.
The American journal of pathology
Morphogenesis: Laying down the tracks.
Nature materials
The extracellular matrix: a dynamic niche in cancer progression.
The Journal of cell biology
Exploring the link between human embryonic stem cell organization and fate using tension-calibrated extracellular matrix functionalized polyacrylamide gels.
Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)
Extracellular matrix degradation and remodeling in development and disease.
Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology
In situ force mapping of mammary gland transformation.
Integrative biology : quantitative biosciences from nano to macro
Valerie Weaver: overcoming cancer's stiff resistance. Interview by Caitlin Sedwick.
The Journal of cell biology
Balancing forces: architectural control of mechanotransduction.
Nature reviews. Molecular cell biology
Tumor microenvironment and progression.
Journal of surgical oncology
The extracellular matrix at a glance.
Journal of cell science
Effect of substrate stiffness and PDGF on the behavior of vascular smooth muscle cells: implications for atherosclerosis.
Journal of cellular physiology
Forcing form and function: biomechanical regulation of tumor evolution.
Trends in cell biology
Dynamic interplay between the collagen scaffold and tumor evolution.
Current opinion in cell biology
SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling enzyme ATPases promote cell proliferation in normal mammary epithelial cells.
Journal of cellular physiology
HOXA9 regulates BRCA1 expression to modulate human breast tumor phenotype.
The Journal of clinical investigation
Biophysics. Enforcing order on signaling.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
Integrin clustering is driven by mechanical resistance from the glycocalyx and the substrate.
PLoS computational biology
Mechanics, malignancy, and metastasis: the force journey of a tumor cell.
Cancer metastasis reviews
Filamin A-beta1 integrin complex tunes epithelial cell response to matrix tension.
Molecular biology of the cell
The tissue diagnostic instrument.
The Review of scientific instruments
Multiscale modeling of form and function.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
CpG island tumor suppressor promoter methylation in non-BRCA-associated early mammary carcinogenesis.
Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology
A tense situation: forcing tumour progression.
Nature reviews. Cancer
Three-dimensional context regulation of metastasis.
Clinical & experimental metastasis
A human breast cell model of preinvasive to invasive transition.
Cancer research
Rac-dependent cyclin D1 gene expression regulated by cadherin- and integrin-mediated adhesion.
Journal of cell science
Integrin-mediated signalling through the MAP-kinase pathway.
IET systems biology
Modeling morphogenesis and oncogenesis in three-dimensional breast epithelial cultures.
Annual review of pathology
alpha6beta4 integrin activates Rac-dependent p21-activated kinase 1 to drive NF-kappaB-dependent resistance to apoptosis in 3D mammary acini.
Journal of cell science
G'rab'bing the microenvironment for invasion.
Developmental cell
Mammary epithelial cell: influence of extracellular matrix composition and organization during development and tumorigenesis.
The international journal of biochemistry & cell biology
Demystifying the effects of a three-dimensional microenvironment in tissue morphogenesis.
Methods in cell biology
The ultrastructure of MCF-10A acini.
Journal of cellular physiology
Analysis of protein expression during oxidative stress in breast epithelial cells using a stable isotope labeled proteome internal standard.
Journal of proteome research
Rac-GAP-dependent inhibition of breast cancer cell proliferation by {beta}2-chimerin.
The Journal of biological chemistry
Hypoxia-inducible factor regulates alphavbeta3 integrin cell surface expression.
Molecular biology of the cell
Effects of substrate stiffness on cell morphology, cytoskeletal structure, and adhesion.
Cell motility and the cytoskeleton
The tension mounts: mechanics meets morphogenesis and malignancy.
Journal of mammary gland biology and neoplasia
Watch thy neighbor: cancer is a communal affair.
Journal of cell science
Death in the third dimension: apoptosis regulation and tissue architecture.
Current opinion in genetics & development
Autocrine laminin-5 ligates alpha6beta4 integrin and activates RAC and NFkappaB to mediate anchorage-independent survival of mammary tumors.
The Journal of cell biology
Alpha 6 beta 4 integrin regulates keratinocyte chemotaxis through differential GTPase activation and antagonism of alpha 3 beta 1 integrin.
Journal of cell science
The tissue microenvironment as an epigenetic tumor modifier.
Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)
The organizing principle: microenvironmental influences in the normal and malignant breast.
Differentiation; research in biological diversity
Membrane-associated MMP regulators: novel cell adhesion tumor suppressor proteins?
Developmental cell
Tumour-stromal interactions. Integrins and cell adhesions as modulators of mammary cell survival and transformation.
Breast cancer research : BCR
Lack of specificity of trans,trans-muconic acid as a benzene biomarker after ingestion of sorbic acid-preserved foods.
Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology
E7-transduced human breast epithelial cells show partial differentiation in three-dimensional culture.
Cancer research
Constitutive expression of Heregulin induces apoptosis in an erbB-2 overexpressing breast cancer cell line SKBr-3.
International journal of oncology
Functional culture models to study mechanisms governing apoptosis in normal and malignant mammary epithelial cells.
Journal of mammary gland biology and neoplasia
Tissue structure, nuclear organization, and gene expression in normal and malignant breast.
Cancer research
Reciprocal interactions between beta1-integrin and epidermal growth factor receptor in three-dimensional basement membrane breast cultures: a different perspective in epithelial biology.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Tissue phenotype depends on reciprocal interactions between the extracellular matrix and the structural organization of the nucleus.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Structural cues from the tissue microenvironment are essential determinants of the human mammary epithelial cell phenotype.
Journal of mammary gland biology and neoplasia
Differentiation and cancer in the mammary gland: shedding light on an old dichotomy.
Advances in cancer research
Reversion of the malignant phenotype of human breast cells in three-dimensional culture and in vivo by integrin blocking antibodies.
The Journal of cell biology
Extracellular matrix: the central regulator of cell and tissue homeostasis.
Trends in cell biology
Degradation of nuclear matrix and DNA cleavage in apoptotic thymocytes.
Journal of cell science
Extracellular matrix signaling from the cellular membrane skeleton to the nuclear skeleton: a model of gene regulation.
Recent progress in hormone research
The importance of the microenvironment in breast cancer progression: recapitulation of mammary tumorigenesis using a unique human mammary epithelial cell model and a three-dimensional culture assay.
Biochemistry and cell biology = Biochimie et biologie cellulaire
The development of a functionally relevant cell culture model of progressive human breast cancer.
Seminars in cancer biology
Role of proteolysis in apoptosis: involvement of serine proteases in internucleosomal DNA fragmentation in immature thymocytes.
Biochemistry and cell biology = Biochimie et biologie cellulaire