In 2015, Emily Kleczko received a PhD in Cancer Biology from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. She wrote her dissertation on resistance mechanisms to EGFR and FGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and non-small cell lung cancer under the guidance of Dr. Lynn Heasley, PhD. Following the completion of her PhD, Dr. Kleczko began a Post Doctoral Fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Katharina Hopp, PhD at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus where she investigated the role of CD8+ T cells in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. In 2018, Dr. Kleczko began a second Post Doctoral Fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Raphael Nemenoff, PhD where she researched the role of the tumor microenvironment in lung cancer, specifically the role of the complement pathway on tumor progression. In 2019, Dr. Kleczko joined the ranks of faculty as an Instructor at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Dr. Kleczko’s research is focused on the interplay between the tumor microenvironment, especially immune cells and pathways, and tumor cells in lung cancer progression. She has multiple research projects in which she is currently involved, including one on the complement pathway and one on developing a novel EGFR-mutant lung cancer model.