Ronald L. Heimark

Ronald L. Heimark received the Ph.D. degree in biochemistry from the University of California, Davis. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow with Dr. Earl Davie in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Washington, Seattle, working on protein chemistry of the activation of the intrinsic pathway of blood coagulation. He became a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology, identifying a new cadherin in vascular endothelium in studies examining vascular endothelial dysfuntion. In 1990, he was one of the founding scientists of ICOS Corporation, and in 1993, he joined the faculty of the Department of Surgery at the University of Arizona, Tucson, where he is currently the Vice Chair for Surgical Research. His research focus is on cancer invasion and metastasis studying mechanisms of epithelial–mesenchymal transition. Among his research interests is the use of microfluidic systems for capture of stem cells and circulating cancer cells and nanoparticles for localized delivery of chemotherapy.