Carlotta Glackin, Ph.D.

Carlotta A. Glackin, Ph.D. received her BA/BS degrees at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and University of Colorado (CU), Boulder in Biochemistry and Molecular Cellular Developmental Biology respectively. She then pursued her Ph.D. research in Molecular Biology under the guidance of Dr. James Bonner and continued her postdoctoral training in Molecular and Developmental Biology with Dr Barbara Wold’s group at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA. 

In 1993, she started as an Assistant Research Professor in the Division of Anatomic Pathology at City of Hope Medical Center and received tenure in 2000 as an Associate Professor in the Division of Molecular Medicine and Department of Developmental and Stem cell Biology at the Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope. She has been internationally recognized for her work in stem cell research and in 2007 received Awards from the Medical Research Council of South Australia where she spent a sabbatical with Dr Stan Gronthos’ Stem Cell group, at the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science in Adelaide. South Australia. She has also received many national and foundation research grants over the years including: National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI), Department of Defense (DoD/BCRP), Susan G Komen, Foundation for Women’s Cancer, STOP CANCER, and the City and City of Hope Cancer Center Grants.

Currently, Dr. Glackin’s research focuses on the TWIST family of basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors vital in development and reactivated in many cancers, including breast and ovarian. TWIST proteins regulate epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), the process underlying metastatic spread. Furthermore, recent studies from multiple groups have correlated mesenchymal characteristics with a cancer stem cell phenotype, angiogenesis, and chemoresistance to a variety of agents. The Glackin lab is pursuing many lines of research to understand how TWIST operates in women’s cancers, and how it could be targeted for new cancer therapies. Her recent therapeutic pilot studies demonstrate efficacy in tumor size and weight in animal models. With this success, she hopes to generate additional funds for larger pre-clinical studies at City of Hope to gain critical data required for FDA approval for a human phase I/II clinical trial at City of Hope. Dr. Glackin’s research provides another promising approach to therapy that could bring healing to so many women battling cancer.