Dr. Rolf A. Brekken is currently the Effie Marie Cain Research Scholar in Angiogenesis Research and is a principal investigator in the Hamon Center for Therapeutic Oncology Research. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and his PhD from UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. His graduate research was focused on the use of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) as a target for the therapy of solid tumors. He completed his postdoctoral training in the Department of Vascular Biology at the Hope Heart Institute in Seattle, Washington. His laboratory investigates the microenvironment of pancreatic, breast, and lung tumors, with a particular emphasis on pathways that drive epithelial plasticity and immune suppression.