
Andrew Ewald, PhD
If not for BCRF/PFP, our research on breast cancer metastasis would be slower, less ambitious, and less focused on the patient. With BCRF support we are able to move rapidly in the direction of the greatest potential patient impact.
Associate Professor, Cell Biology and Oncology
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Baltimore, Maryland
Areas of Focus: Metastasis, Tumor Biology
CURRENT RESEARCH
Goal: To understand how breast cancer spreads and to identify preventive strategies to improve patient outcomes.
Impact: Dr. Ewald is studying how breast cancer cells spread through the body to form new tumors in the lungs, brain, liver, and bones. This process, called metastasis, is the major cause of cancer deaths. His findings may guide the development of new strategies to improve outcomes for women with metastatic breast cancer (MBC).
What’s next: He and his colleagues will continue to examine how different cell types promote or inhibit metastasis and aim to identify targets within breast cancer cells that allow them to form new tumors at distant sites.
Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is cancer that has spread from the breast to other parts of the body. While treatable, it is currently incurable. Dr. Ewald employs sophisticated laboratory technologies to study breast cancer cells and understand the steps involved that allow them travel through the body and colonized new sites. His goal is to discover ways to prevent metastasis from occurring and to identify new molecular targets to improve outcomes for patients with MBC.
BIOGRAPHY
Andrew J. Ewald earned his BS in physics from Haverford College and his PhD in biochemistry and molecular biophysics from the California Institute of Technology. He is a professor in the Departments of Cell Biology, Oncology, and Biomedical Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His laboratory has pioneered the use of 3D culture techniques to study the growth and invasion of breast cancer cells.
Dr. Ewald’s goal is to identify the molecules driving metastatic spread to enable the development of targeted therapies. His laboratory includes basic science and medical trainees and he collaborates with both engineers and clinicians. BCRF funding is critical to his current efforts to develop strategies to identify the patients at highest risk of metastatic recurrence and to develop innovative therapies to treat patients with metastatic breast cancer.