Dr. Sturla plays an instrumental role in leading the in vitro Pharmacology program at PIC Therapeutics. Lisa has over 20 years of experience as a cellular and molecular biologist in both pediatric and adult oncology, employing both basic research and patient tumor profiling to elucidate mechanisms of aggressive tumor growth and treatment resistance for therapeutic targeting. 

Prior to joining PIC, Dr. Sturla held joint Assistant Professor appointments in Neurology and Pathology at Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital as the Principal Investigator of studies to identify prognostic biomarkers and validate potential therapeutic targets involved in aggressive brain tumor growth, infiltration and therapeutic resistance.  Dr. Sturla also has held a Junior faculty position in the Department of Radiation Biology at Virginia Commonwealth University, identifying mechanisms of radiation resistance in adult head and neck and breast cancers and determining a pivotal role for the phosphatase, SHP2.  She also has worked at the Department of Neurosurgery, BIDMC, Boston, where she was responsible for setting up a new research lab focused on elucidating a role for phosphatases including SHP2 as a potential therapeutic target in adult brain tumors.

Dr. Sturla received a BSc with honors from University of Bristol (UK) and a PhD from University of Leeds (UK) in Pediatric Oncology. She did Postgraduate studies in Pediatric Oncology at St. James University Hospital/University of Leeds, as well as additional Postdoctoral training at Boston Children's Hospital. While at Boston Children’s, she played an instrumental role in a multi-institution pediatric embryonal tumor profiling effort to identify diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers alongside identification and validation of novel therapeutic targets for the pediatric brain tumor, Medulloblastoma.