Pamela N. Munster, MD

Dr. Pamela N. Munster is a medical oncologist who cares for patients with breast cancer. Her roles include director of the early-phase clinical trials program for cancer research; co-director of the UCSF Center for BRCA Research; and co-leader of UCSF's program in developmental therapeutics, which focuses on innovative research to find treatments for advanced cancer.

In her own research endeavors, Munster is interested in developing new targeted therapies for treatment-resistant cancer. She studies changes in gene expression and resistance to therapy. Her lab is involved in projects evaluating hormone therapies for breast cancer as well as therapies that engage the immune system to fight tumors. She has published in numerous scientific journals and lectured on topics in breast oncology, such as the management of metastatic breast cancer, breast cancer receptors, clinical trials and translational research (the process of applying study findings to patient care). She has a published memoir, “Twisting Fate: My Journey with BRCA – From Breast Cancer Doctor to Patient and Back.”

Munster earned her medical degree from the University of Bern in Switzerland. She completed a residency in internal medicine at Indiana University Health, followed by a fellowship in medical hematology and oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where she also served as faculty in the breast cancer program.

Prior to joining UCSF, Munster worked for six years in the Moffitt Cancer Center's division of breast oncology and experimental therapeutics program, serving as scientific director of breast research and co-chair of the phase 1 clinical trial program.