Sasha E. Stanton, MD, PhD

“My career began in biomedical research but, while I enjoy the rigor of working in the lab, ultimately it wasn’t enough. I wanted to be directly involved with patients and use my discoveries to improve current therapies. Oncology patients are amazing because their strength and perseverance in the face of grueling cancer treatments is so inspiring. This motivates me to pursue more targeted breast cancer therapies.”

Dr. Sasha Stanton sees her relationship with her patients as a partnership. It begins by carefully evaluating the cancer and reviewing the treatment options. If the disease cannot be eradicated, then she works together with the patient to manage it and maintain the best possible quality of life. The patient’s goals and desires inform the treatment plan and every decision is based on the latest science. As a physician-researcher, Dr. Stanton acts as a bridge between the lab and the clinic, sharing updates about new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in language that is easy to understand.

Dr. Stanton’s research is focused on translational breast cancer research, taking what she learns from clinical trials and other studies to improve health outcomes for people with breast cancer. Her work focuses on developing a vaccine for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), an early form of breast cancer that predicts an increased risk of developing invasive breast cancer. The goal of this vaccine is to eventually be used to prevent cancer for people with mutations such as BRCA1 and BRCA2 who have never had evidence of disease but are at high risk to develop breast cancer. In addition to publishing multiple scientific articles about vaccine design and the tumor immune environment in breast tumors, Dr. Stanton has presented her research at the American Association of Cancer Research, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the Northwest Metastatic Breast Cancer Conference and the Breast Cancer Association of Nigeria Symposium. Read more about Dr. Stanton's research here: http://bit.ly/SashaStantonLab

Outside of the lab, Dr. Stanton is a first soprano and has sung in choirs since childhood. She was born and raised in Oakland, California before moving to the East Coast for college and her medical training. She first moved to the Pacific Northwest for her oncology fellowship and fell in love with this beautiful part of the country. She is also an avid reader (particularly mysteries) and enjoys hiking and traveling.