Professor Ivaska describes herself is curious by nature - she enjoyed natural sciences in school and it's probably why she decided to study biochemistry at university. She became interested in the causes of human illnesses, and was drawn to cancer research. Outside of the lab, she loves boating in the beautiful Turku archipelago in Finland and hiking in the far north.

Breast cancer is much more difficult to treat once it has spread, and currently there is no cure once this happens. Much of the research to understand this process has focused on what cancer cells do to make this more likely, but Professor Ivaska and her colleagues instead want to study how healthy breast tissue can counteract the spread of cancer. They recently discovered that a molecule, which is secreted by cells in the mammary glands, could work as a potent anti-invasive agent.

This molecule, called ‘insulin-like growth factor binding protein 2’, or IGFBP2 for short, can block the spread of some breast cancer cells. Professor Ivaska now hopes to uncover a change in how that molecule is used in cancer cells that might stop its ability to block their spread. She will test for drugs that could harness the potential of IGFBP2. Ultimately, the researchers hope to open up new avenues for drug development to treat breast cancer metastasis.