Laura van‘t Veer

Early Life and Background

Laura Johanna van ’t Veer was born in 1957 in the Netherlands and grew up in Amsterdam.[9][5] She has described herself as being drawn early to biology and the natural sciences, interests that would later converge in a career at the interface of molecular genetics and clinical oncology.[9] Her Dutch upbringing in a country with a strong public health and research infrastructure provided an environment in which scientific careers for women, though still underrepresented, were increasingly possible.

After completing secondary school, van ’t Veer enrolled at the University of Amsterdam, where she pursued studies in biology with a focus on molecular and experimental oncology. She earned a BSc in Biology (Molecular Oncology) in 1980, followed by an MSc in Experimental Oncology in 1984.[4] These degrees provided her with foundational training in cell biology, genetics, and tumor biology at a time when molecular techniques were rapidly transforming cancer research.

She then moved to the University of Leiden (Leiden University) for doctoral training in medicine, concentrating on oncogene activation and tumorigenesis. In 1989, she received her PhD in Medicine with a dissertation on the role of oncogenes in ovarian cancer and melanoma.[3][4][9] Her graduate work focused on why normal ovarian cells become malignant, an early indication of her enduring interest in the molecular events that initiate and drive cancer.[5][9]

Training and Early Career

Following her PhD, van ’t Veer pursued postdoctoral research in the United States. She completed postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School in Boston, deepening her expertise in molecular oncology and experimental cancer biology.[10] This experience immersed her in an international research environment and exposed her to emerging techniques in molecular genetics at a critical moment in the field’s development.

Upon returning to the Netherlands, she joined the Netherlands Cancer Institute – Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (NKI‑AVL) in Amsterdam. Over time she became group leader in molecular pathology in the Department of Pathology and the Division of Experimental Therapy.[5] Her work combined laboratory research with diagnostic pathology, positioning her at the intersection of basic science and clinical practice.

At NKI‑AVL, she began to focus more intensively on breast cancer. By the late 1990s, improvements in screening and treatment had increased survival, but oncologists still struggled to distinguish which early‑stage patients required adjuvant chemotherapy and which could safely avoid it. Standard clinicopathologic factors such as tumor size, grade, and nodal status were insufficient to precisely predict the risk of distant metastasis. Van ’t Veer and her colleagues believed that gene‑expression profiling—measuring patterns of mRNA expression across many genes simultaneously—could offer a more accurate prognostic tool.

Discovery of the 70‑Gene Signature and Development of MammaPrint

In 2001, as head of molecular pathology at the Netherlands Cancer Institute, van ’t Veer and her team identified a 70‑gene DNA expression signature that could predict the risk of future metastases in women with early‑stage breast cancer.[1][3] Using microarray technology on tumor samples from young patients with node‑negative disease, they compared the gene‑expression patterns of tumors that had recurred with those that had not. This work demonstrated that a relatively small set of genes could stratify tumors into high‑ and low‑risk groups with greater accuracy than traditional clinicopathologic markers.

Building on this discovery, the team developed a clinically applicable assay based on the 70‑gene signature. By 2002, this work had crystallized into what would become MammaPrint, a genomic test for early‑stage breast cancer recurrence risk.[13] The assay analyzes the expression levels of 70 genes implicated in tumor proliferation, invasion, and metastasis, producing a binary classification of patients into high‑risk or low‑risk categories for distant relapse.

In 2003, to translate this research into a widely accessible clinical product, van ’t Veer and colleagues co‑founded the molecular diagnostics company Agendia, a spinoff from the Netherlands Cancer Institute.[13][9] Agendia’s mission was to commercialize MammaPrint and related gene‑expression–based assays, bridging the gap between academic discovery and routine clinical practice. Van ’t Veer is recognized as both the inventor of MammaPrint and a co‑founder of Agendia.[2][10]

MammaPrint was among the earliest examples of a multi‑gene expression signature being developed into a clinically validated diagnostic test. In 2007, it became the world’s first FDA‑approved molecular diagnostic microarray test for breast cancer, a landmark in regulatory acceptance of complex genomic assays.[13][EPO] Its introduction allowed thousands of women with node‑negative or limited node‑positive disease to be classified as low risk and spared adjuvant chemotherapy without compromising survival, thereby reducing overtreatment and treatment‑related toxicity.

International Academic Leadership and the Move to UCSF

Van ’t Veer’s success with MammaPrint and Agendia brought her increasing international visibility. She continued to serve as Head of Diagnostic Oncology at the Netherlands Cancer Institute, overseeing the integration of molecular diagnostics into patient care and mentoring a new generation of translational researchers.[2]

Later, she was recruited to the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), one of the leading cancer research centers in the United States. At UCSF’s Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center (HDFCCC), she became Professor of Laboratory Medicine, Leader of the Breast Oncology Program, and Director of Applied Genomics.[1][2][3] She also holds the Angela and Shu Kai Chan Endowed Chair in Cancer Research.[1][2][7]

In these roles, van ’t Veer oversees a broad research portfolio focused on personalized medicine in breast cancer. Her work aims to refine genomic and molecular markers that predict prognosis and therapy response, to integrate genomic information with clinical and imaging data, and to develop risk‑adapted treatment strategies.[1][2][6] She serves as UCSF‑site principal investigator for the Athena Breast Health Network, a large, multi‑institutional effort to improve breast cancer screening, risk assessment, and prevention.[2][3]

Van ’t Veer is also known for her leadership in large collaborative trials, including the I‑SPY 2 Trial, an adaptive, biomarker‑driven neoadjuvant trial platform testing novel agents in high‑risk early breast cancer. She chairs the trial’s biomarker committee and ensures that companion diagnostics used in the study meet Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) standards.[7][13] Her expertise in genomics and trial design has helped shape I‑SPY 2 as a model for adaptive clinical trials in oncology.

Research Contributions and Major Works

Across her career, van ’t Veer has made several major contributions to cancer research and molecular diagnostics:

• 70‑Gene Prognostic Signature in Breast Cancer: Her pioneering identification of a 70‑gene expression signature that predicts distant metastasis in early‑stage breast cancer helped inaugurate the field of multi‑gene expression assays for risk stratification.[1][3][6]
• MammaPrint Development and Clinical Validation: As inventor of MammaPrint, she led its analytical and clinical validation. Prospective and retrospective studies demonstrated that the test can reclassify a substantial fraction of patients as low risk, allowing safe omission of chemotherapy and informing de‑escalation strategies.[6][10][13]
• Prospective Clinical Trials: Van ’t Veer has played a prominent role in major trials evaluating genomic signatures, including the MINDACT trial, which investigated whether MammaPrint could guide chemotherapy decisions in node‑negative and limited node‑positive breast cancer. Her work in such studies has provided high‑level evidence for integrating genomic risk assessment into guidelines.[2][6]
• I‑SPY 2 and Adaptive Trial Design: As biomarker committee chair for I‑SPY 2, she helped design an adaptive platform that uses molecular subtyping and early response biomarkers to rapidly identify which new agents benefit which subsets of patients.[7][12] This trial has become an influential model for precision‑medicine‑oriented clinical research.
• Environmental and Tumor Biology Interactions: Her research includes exploring how environmental exposures, tumor subtype, and host factors interact to influence metastasis risk and treatment response.[6]
• Data Sharing and Genomics Infrastructure: Van ’t Veer has been a principal investigator for National Institutes of Health (NIH) initiatives on genomics data sharing, helping to standardize methods for sharing annotated genomic data worldwide.[7]

She has authored or co‑authored more than 230–280 peer‑reviewed scientific articles and is co‑inventor on approximately six patents in molecular diagnostics and genomics.[3][7][13] Her publications span basic tumor biology, biomarker discovery, assay development, and clinical trial results, reflecting the breadth of her translational work.

Awards, Honors, and Recognition

Van ’t Veer’s contributions have been recognized with numerous national and international awards:

• International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Medal of Honor (2005): Awarded by IARC in Lyon for her contributions to cancer research, highlighting the global impact of her early work in molecular oncology.[7]
• Van der Schueren Award and Lecture for European Breast Cancer Research (2006): Recognized her influence in European breast cancer research during the early adoption of genomic profiling.[7]
• European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Lifetime Achievement Award for Translational Research in Breast Cancer (2007): Honored her leadership in bringing laboratory discoveries into clinical practice in breast oncology.[7]
• European Union Prize for Women Innovators (2014): She received this high‑profile EU award for inventing MammaPrint and successfully co‑founding Agendia, highlighting her dual role as scientist and entrepreneur.[13]
• European Inventor Award (2015): The European Patent Office honored her in the “Small and Medium‑Sized Enterprises” category for her patented breast cancer gene‑expression test, emphasizing the test’s influence on patient management and health‑care systems.[2][7][10]
• Harry and Edith Gladstein Award (2009) from Indiana University School of Medicine: Acknowledged her pioneering work in genomic breast cancer diagnostics.[7]
• Giants of Cancer Care® Inductee (2020): She was named a Giant of Cancer Care in recognition of her role in inventing MammaPrint and shaping genomic risk assessment, as well as her leadership in I‑SPY 2 and international data‑sharing initiatives.[7]
• PMWC Luminary Award (2020): Presented by the Precision Medicine World Conference for her contributions to precision oncology and development of the MammaPrint assay.[13]
• William L. McGuire Memorial Lecture Award (2024) at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: Recognized her “trailblazing work” in risk stratification, tumor subtyping, and improved treatment for early breast cancer through MammaPrint and biomarker‑driven trials.[8]
• Luigi Castagnetta Award (announced 2024): Honored at a breast cancer symposium in Sicily for pioneering work in molecular cancer diagnostics.[Agendia 2024]

In addition, media outlets such as 24/7 Wall Street have recognized her as one of a select group of “amazing women inventors,” further cementing her public profile as a leading woman innovator in biomedical science.[13]

Personal Life

Public information about van ’t Veer’s personal life is relatively limited, reflecting a professional focus on her scientific and clinical work. She has spoken in interviews about her upbringing in Amsterdam and the influence of mentors and colleagues on her career in molecular oncology.[9] However, detailed information about her family life, marital status, or children is generally not disclosed in major institutional or biographical profiles, and there is no widely cited documentation of these aspects of her life.

This relative privacy is consistent with many contemporary scientists whose public profiles are centered on research achievements rather than personal biography. Available sources emphasize her roles as a mentor, collaborator, and leader within academic and clinical communities, including her contributions to training young scientists and clinicians in translational cancer research.[1][2][6]

Legacy and Historical Impact

Laura van ’t Veer’s legacy in women’s and medical history is closely tied to the transformation of breast cancer care through genomic risk profiling. Before the advent of tests like MammaPrint, most women with early‑stage breast cancer who met broad clinical criteria received adjuvant chemotherapy, even though only a subset would ever experience distant recurrence. By demonstrating that a 70‑gene expression profile could reliably stratify patients by risk, van ’t Veer helped to redefine standard‑of‑care decision‑making.

The impact of her work can be seen on several levels:

• Clinical Practice: MammaPrint and related assays have enabled more individualized treatment, reducing overtreatment and its associated physical, psychological, and economic burdens. Large trials have shown that many women classified as genomically low risk can safely forgo chemotherapy.[2][6][13]
• Regulatory Science: The FDA’s 2007 clearance of MammaPrint as the first molecular diagnostic microarray test for breast cancer set an important precedent for the regulation of complex genomic diagnostics, influencing later assays across oncology.[13]
• Translational Research Model: Her career exemplifies successful translation from academic discovery to commercial product and back into academic clinical trials, demonstrating a virtuous cycle of innovation. Agendia’s development of MammaPrint became an archetype for how spin‑off companies can deliver hospital‑based discoveries to a global patient population.[10][13]
• Adaptive Trial Design: Through I‑SPY 2, van ’t Veer has helped pioneer adaptive, biomarker‑driven trials that can more quickly determine which therapies benefit specific molecular subgroups, accelerating drug development and access to effective treatments.[7][12]
• Women in Science and Innovation: As a woman who has led major academic programs, co‑founded a biotech company, and received high‑profile European and American innovation awards, she serves as a visible role model in fields where women remain underrepresented, particularly in senior leadership and entrepreneurial roles.

Her work also intersects with broader public‑health goals. By reducing unnecessary chemotherapy, genomic risk assessment not only improves quality of life but also reduces health‑care costs, contributing to more sustainable cancer care systems. Additionally, her involvement in genomics data‑sharing initiatives supports the development of larger, more diverse datasets, which can help address disparities in cancer outcomes.

Later Career and Ongoing Work

As of the mid‑2020s, van ’t Veer remains an active researcher and academic leader at UCSF. She continues to direct the Applied Genomics program and co‑lead the Breast Oncology Program at the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, while holding the Angela and Shu Kai Chan Endowed Chair in Cancer Research.[1][2][3]

Her ongoing work includes:

• Developing new genomic and molecular signatures to further refine prognostication and treatment selection in breast cancer.
• Evaluating response‑adaptive treatment strategies in clinical trials, guided by early markers of response such as MRI changes and molecular signals.
• Investigating the biological mechanisms underlying metastasis and resistance to therapy, including interactions between tumor cells, the microenvironment, and host factors.[6]
• Promoting standardized approaches to genomics data sharing and analysis, thereby facilitating international collaboration and reproducibility.[7]

She frequently lectures at international conferences and participates in symposia across Europe and North America, where she is honored for her contributions to molecular diagnostics and breast cancer research.[10][Agendia 2024]

Status

Laura van ’t Veer is alive and continues to work in San Francisco and internationally. Her sustained influence on clinical practice, regulatory frameworks, and translational research ensures that she will remain a central figure in the history of precision oncology and in the broader narrative of women’s contributions to science and medicine.