Sheri L. Holmen, PhD

Associate Professor, Department of Surgery

Sheri L. Holmen, PhD, is an associate professor in the University of Utah’s Department of Surgery. Holmen is also an investigator at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI).

Holmen’s research at HCI is dedicated to identifying the specific genes that cause tumors and developing a therapy against them. Holmen’s laboratory uses a somatic cell gene transfer technique. This technique models melanoma and glioblastoma, two tumors that are particularly difficult to treat with conventional therapies. Holmen performs tests on these model tumors and uses her findings to increase the effectiveness of cancer treatments.

Holmen earned a PhD in biomedical science with an emphasis in tumor biology from the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, MN. Before coming to HCI, she was an associate member at the Nevada Cancer Institute and clinical assistant professor of medicine at the University of Nevada School of Medicine in Las Vegas, NV. Holmen has been published extensively, is an associate editor of the American Journal of Cancer Research, and received the Association for Research of Childhood Cancers (AROCC) Award in 2010.