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Massey welcomes Jennifer Koblinski, Ph.D., as a research member in the Cancer Molecular Genetics program. Koblinski joined the VCU Department of Pathology as an assistant professor in 2013.

Koblinski’s primary research interest focuses on the mechanisms that facilitate breast cancer metastasis to the brain. In the past five years Koblinski has been awarded more than $40 million in grants and contracts to support this research, with findings published in peer-reviewed journals and by peer and non-peer reviewed editorials, reviews and book chapters.

Prior to joining VCU, Koblinski was an assistant professor in the Women’s Cancer Research Program at Northwestern University. While there, she was principal investigator on several studies that led to the discovery that sydnecans are involved in the metastasis of breast cancer to the brain, although a direct connection has not been shown. This discovery could potentially lead to the identification of new biomarkers and possibly the development of a new treatment for this form of the disease.

Koblinski is a member of the American Association for Cancer Research, the Women in Cancer Research Association and the Metastasis Research Society. She is currently mentoring several undergraduate students and a graduate student at the VCU School of Medicine and serves as a mentor for the Master in Biotechnology Program. Koblinski is also an invited speaker to present at various medical and scientific institutions across the United States and abroad on topics of breast cancer metastasis to bone and brain.

Written by: Massey Communications Office