Ashani Weeraratna

Ashani Weeraratna

Nationality	American
Known for	Research on melanoma and aging

Ashani Weeraratna is a prominent American cancer biologist known for her pioneering research on the intersection of aging and cancer, particularly melanoma. She is currently a professor at Johns Hopkins University and holds the E.V. McCollum Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Early Life and Education

Ashani Weeraratna was born in Sri Lanka and moved to the United States to pursue higher education. She completed her undergraduate studies in Biology at St. Mary's College of Maryland. She then earned her Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Oncology from the University of Pennsylvania.

Career

Weeraratna began her career as a postdoctoral fellow at the Wistar Institute, where she focused on the molecular mechanisms of melanoma progression. Her work has significantly contributed to understanding how aging affects cancer development and progression.

In 2019, she joined Johns Hopkins University as a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor. Her research at Johns Hopkins focuses on the tumor microenvironment and how age-related changes in this environment influence cancer metastasis and therapy resistance.

Research Contributions

Weeraratna's research has provided critical insights into the role of the Wnt signaling pathway in melanoma. She has demonstrated how changes in the tumor microenvironment, driven by aging, can lead to increased metastasis and resistance to therapy.

Her work has also highlighted the importance of senescence in the tumor microenvironment and how senescent cells can promote tumor growth and metastasis. This has opened new avenues for therapeutic interventions targeting the aging microenvironment in cancer treatment.

Awards and Honors

Weeraratna has received numerous awards for her contributions to cancer research, including the American Association for Cancer Research's Outstanding Investigator Award. She is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Publications

Weeraratna has published extensively in high-impact journals such as Nature, Cell, and Cancer Research. Her publications are widely cited and have significantly influenced the field of cancer biology.

Also see

• Melanoma
• Cancer Biology
• Aging and Cancer
• Johns Hopkins University
• Wnt Signaling Pathway

External Links

• [Johns Hopkins University Faculty Page](https://www.jhu.edu)
• [ResearchGate Profile](https://www.researchgate.net)