After many years in leading research environments in the United States, Tracy-Ann Read is returning to the University of Bergen. Her career has spanned cancer biology, neuroscience, and experimental modelling, with a particular focus on how cancer cells interact with their microenvironment. She now brings this experience back to Bergen to contribute to research on the relationship between tumours and the nervous system.
Returning to Bergen
Tracy-Ann Read is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, USA. After many years in the United States, she is now returning to the University of Bergen, where she previously completed her academic training.
Read holds a PhD in Cell Biology from the University of Bergen. Her doctoral work focused on experimental brain tumours and novel therapeutic strategies. Her academic background also includes graduate work in physiology, where her early research investigated how the blood-brain barrier influences cancer cell invasion in the brain.
Experience from Leading Research Environments
Following her PhD, Read completed postdoctoral research in developmental neuroscience and paediatric cancers at Johns Hopkins University and Duke University.
Over more than two decades, she has worked at the intersection of cancer biology and neuroscience, with expertise in tumour-microenvironment interactions. Her research has provided important insights into how cancer cells adapt to and exploit neural niches, including mechanisms that support tumour growth, invasion, and metastasis.
Linking Cell Movement and Energy Balance
More recently, Read’s research has focused on how cells move, adapt, and maintain their health. She has shown that proteins involved in cell movement also play an unexpected role in mitochondria, the cell’s energy centres.
These findings reveal a close link between cell movement, energy balance, and cellular health. They help explain how cancer cells become more invasive and are also relevant to neurological diseases such as ALS.
Relevant Expertise
“Tracy-Ann brings a combination of experience that is both strong and highly relevant to this field of research,” says Lars A. Akslen, Director of CCBIO (Centre for Cancer Biomarkers) at the University of Bergen.
He points out that her background in cancer biology, neuroscience, and experimental modelling aligns well with the ambition to gain a better understanding of how tumours interact with nerves.
“Her experience is particularly valuable in our efforts to develop research on the interplay between cancer and the nervous system,” says Akslen.
Photo: Tracy-Ann Read
