Edna Cukierman

Early life and education Cukierman was born in Mexico City. She emigrated to Israel in 1986.

Research and career After her PhD, Cukierman was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship in 1997, and joined the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research.

Cukierman joined the Fox Chase Cancer Center in 2002. Desmoplasia, which is the growth of connective tissue, shows similarities to wound healing pathologies (e.g. chronic inflammation). She believes it will be possible to stall the growth of tumors by transforming the microenvironment into one which harnesses anti-tumor functions.

In 2005, Cukierman demonstrated that desmoplastic extracellular matrices could induce a myofibroblastic phenotype on naïve fibroblastic cells. This work involved the realization of a human mimetic three-dimensional stroma system, which allowed Cukierman to understand the extracellular factors that determine the function of fibroblasts. She demonstrated that the glutamatergic presynaptic protein Netrin G1 promoted tumorgenesis by providing nutritional support and immunity to cancer-associated fibroblasts. She has shown that anti-Netrin G1 antibodies can halt tumorgenesis.

Awards and honors 2004 AACR-Pennsylvania Department of Health Career Development Award 2015 United States Department of Defense Idea Award 2020 Worldwide Cancer Research Award

Selected publications Taking cell-matrix adhesions to the third dimension Modeling tissue morphogenesis and cancer in 3D A framework for advancing our understanding of cancer-associated fibroblasts