2025 Berger Lecture on Cancer: Dr. Ashani Weeraratna

The Department of Biological Sciences at the University of South Carolina is pleased to welcome Dr. Ashani Weeraratna for her talk “A Complex TiME- how the tumor immune microenvironment promotes tumor progression”.

Guests are welcome to join us at 5 p.m. for a pre-reception. The program will begin promptly at 6 p.m. This event is free and open to the public, but pre-registration is suggested.

Biography: Dr. Weeraratna is the Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Cancer Biology, E.V. McCollum Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, as well as the Associate Director for Laboratory Research at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She is a Past President of the Society for Melanoma Research, and was recently appointed by President Biden as a member of the National Cancer Advisory Board.

Dr. Weeraratna is an expert in melanoma metastasis, Wnt signaling, and aging, and her research focuses heavily on the effects of the tumor microenvironment on metastasis and therapy resistance. She is one of the first to study how the aging microenvironment guides metastasis and therapy resistance in melanoma. For this innovative work, she was selected by Nature to be a part of their “Milestones in Cancer Research” video series and in 2021 the NCI selected her as one of their “Top 5 Cancer Researchers Accelerating Cancer Research Into the Future”. Moreover, the quality and impact of Dr. Weeraratna’s research is further recognized by the award of numerous peer-reviewed grants and awards.

Dr. Weeraratna is the author of “Is Cancer Inevitable?” She is also heavily invested in Public Health, with multiple calls for sun protection and awareness through her social media presence, and community outreach.

About the Berger Lecture on Cancer

This lectureship, established by Mr. Harris Berger on behalf of the Berger family, honors his brother, Dr. Franklin G. Berger, for his hard work and dedication throughout a 35-year teaching and research career within the Department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences, at the University of South Carolina. It especially recognizes his passionate and tireless efforts in the establishment and success of the Center for Colon Cancer Research and the Colorectal Cancer Prevention Network, both of which have made significant advances against colorectal cancer. The annual lecture promotes the exchange of scientific knowledge and research that fosters further progress in the battle against cancer.

Host or Publisher USC, College of Arts and Sciences