Rate My Professor Lance Liotta

Lance A. Liotta, M.D., Ph.D., is a professor in the College of Science and co-director and co-founder of the Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine (CAPMM) at George Mason University, focusing on advancements in Medicine. He earned his A.B. degree in general science and biology from Hiram College and both his M.D. (Board Certified) and Ph.D. in Bioengineering from Case Western Reserve University, where for his doctoral work he developed the first mathematical model of the cancer metastatic process and studied the early release of circulating tumor cells and tumor cell clumps. In 1976, he joined the National Institutes of Health as a resident physician in the National Cancer Institute Laboratory of Pathology, rising to chief of the tumor invasion and metastasis section, chief of the Laboratory of Pathology, co-director of the Anatomic Pathology Residency Program, deputy director for intramural research and training at NIH, and co-director of the NCI/FDA Clinical Proteomics Program. Since 2005, at George Mason University, his CAPMM team investigates the proteomics of human tissues, cultured cells, and body fluids to enable personalized medicine across diseases including multiple cancers, neurodegenerative disorders, cardiovascular disease, and infectious diseases.

Dr. Liotta pioneered molecular investigations into tumor invasion and metastasis, proposing the crucial role of tumor cell attachment and degradation of the basement membrane, discovering metalloproteinases that degrade extracellular matrix, TIMP-2 as an invasion inhibitor, laminin-binding proteins for cell attachment, and autotaxin for cell motility stimulation. Along with collaborators, he invented high-impact technologies such as Laser Capture Microdissection (with its prototype in the Smithsonian Institution collection), Reverse Phase Protein Microarrays, Biomarker Harvesting Nanoparticles, preservation chemistries for molecular analysis, and protein painting for drug target mapping. These have facilitated discoveries in cancer biology, diagnostics, and therapeutics, resulting in over 100 issued or allowed patents, more than 700 publications, and clinical trials for early-stage disease markers, metastatic cancer therapy, and premalignant breast cancer adjuvant treatment. He co-founded biotechnology companies Theranostics Health and Ceres Nanosciences. Recognized as an ISI Highly Cited Investigator, Dr. Liotta has received the 2015 Outstanding Virginia Faculty Award from SCHEV, Flemming Award for Cancer Research, Warner-Lambert Parke Davis Award, Surgeon General’s Medallion, and National Lectureship Award from the American Association for Clinical Chemistry.