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Valerie M. Weaver, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Surgery
Director, Center for Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration
Contact Information
San Francisco, CA 94143-0456
tel: 415/476-3826
fax: 415/476-3985
email: weaverv@surgery.ucsf.edu
BiographyEducation
- 1982-85, University of Waterloo, Canada, B.Sc.
- 1984-86, University of Ottawa, Canada, B.Sc. (HON)
- 1986-92, University of Ottawa, Canada, Ph.D.
Fellowships
- 1992-94, Institute for Biological Sciences, National Research Council of Canada, Postdoctoral Fellow, Molecular Cell Biology
- 1994-98, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, UC Berkeley, Postdoctoral Fellow, Cancer and Cell Biology
Biography
Valerie M. Weaver, Ph.D., is the Director of the Center for Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration in the Department of Surgery and Associate Professor in the Depart of Surgery and Anatomy and the University of California, San Francisco.
She earned her Bachelor of Science degree for them University of Waterloo in Biochemistry/Chemistry in 1985, continuing her education for an Honors Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry at the University of Ottawa, graduating Summa cum Laude. Dr. Weaver earned her doctorate degree, Ph.D, form the University of Ottawa in Biochemistry in 1992.
After receiving her doctorate, Dr. Weaver was awarded the Molecular Cell Biology and Apoptosis Research Group Postdoctoral Fellow and the Institute for Biological Sciences of Canada from 1992-1994. From 1994-1998, Dr. Weaver was distinguished as the Postdoctoral Fellow at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, in the Cancer and Cell Biology Group, Life Sciences Division.
Following her fellowships, Dr. Weaver has held principle positions within academia. In her current position, she is an Associate Professor with the Department of Surgery at the Universality of California, San Francisco, from 2006. Prior to her appointment at UCSF she was an Adjunct Associate Professor with the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania from 1999 to 2006.
In addition to those positions, she has held additionally positions concurrently. Presently, she is the Director for the Center for Bioengineering and tissue Regeneration with the Department of Surgery and UCSF, an Associate Professor in the Department of Anatomy at UCSF, and Adjunct Associate Professor for the department of Bioengineering at UPenn. From 1999 to 2006 she was a member at the Institute for Medicine and Engineering at UPenn.
Dr. Weaver's extensive honors and awards include, the Breast Cancer Scholar Award with the Department of Defense, the International Society of Differentiation Young Investigator Travel Award, the Alberta Heritable Foundation for Medical Research Lecturer Award, and the University of California Breast Cancer Research Program Postdoctoral Grant, as well as a host of others.
She also proudly serves on the Editorial Board for cancer Biology and Therapy, was a guest Editor in 2004 for J. Mammary Gland Biology and Neoplasia, and is currently an Ad Hoc Reviewer for several distinguished journals, including, Cancer Research, American Journal of Cell Biology, European Journal of Cell Biology, Molecular Carcinogenesis, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Oncogene, FASEB Journal, Journal of Cell Science, Laboratory Investigation, Cancer Letters, Breast Cancer Research, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Molecular Biology of the Cell, Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Clinical Cancer Research.
Selected Publications
- Yang C, Liu Y, Leskow FC, Weaver VM, Kazanietz MG. Rac-GAP-dependent inhibition of breast cancer cell proliferation by {beta}2-chimerin. J Biol Chem. 280: 24363-70, Jul/1/2005.
- Paszek MJ, Zahir N, Johnson KR, Lakins JN, Rozenberg GI, Gefen A, Reinhart-King CA, Margulies SS, Dembo M, Boettiger D, Hammer DA, Weaver VM. Tensional homeostasis and the malignant phenotype. Cancer Cell. 8: 241-54, Sep/2005.
- Kass L, Erler JT, Dembo M, Weaver VM. Mammary epithelial cell: Influence of extracellular matrix composition and organization during development and tumorigenesis. Int J Biochem Cell Biol. 39: 1987-94, 2007.
- Johnson KR, Leight JL, Weaver VM. Demystifying the effects of a three-dimensional microenvironment in tissue morphogenesis. Methods Cell Biol. 83: 547-83, 2007.
- Friedland JC, Lakins JN, Kazanietz MG, Chernoff J, Boettiger D, Weaver VM. {alpha}6beta4 integrin activates Rac-dependent p21-activated kinase 1 to drive NF-{kappa}B-dependent resistance to apoptosis in 3D mammary acini. J Cell Sci. 120: 3700-12, Oct/15/2007.
In the News
NIH to Award Valerie Weaver and Collaborative Group Grant for Virtual Physical Sciences - Oncology Center
UCSF Department of Surgery - Sep 15, 2009The National Institutes of Health has notified Valerie Weaver, PhD, Director of the UCSF Center for Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration in the UCSF Department of Surgery, and her colleagues of its intent to award a grant for the establishment of a virtual Physical Sciences - Oncology Center. The goal of the research will be the development of novel approaches to cancer diagnostics, prognosis and therapy.
The interdisciplinary collaboration will be led by Dr. Weaver, and Jan Liphardt, PhD, a world-renowned physicist at the UC Berkeley, as co-Directors. The grant is spearheaded by 16 investigators spanning seven global academic institutions and laboratories: University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and its Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, Berkeley, E. O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center Breast Cancer Program, and NYU Breast Cancer and Translational Cancer Research Program. The interdisciplinary group encompasses a diverse array of interests from the physical sciences, including physics, bioengineering and bioinformatics, as well as from the clinical and biological sciences.
