​​​Tumour Microenvironment

Research lines

• Non-cancerous cells and matricellular molecules within the tumour, collectively defined as the tumour microenvironment, participate in many hallmarks of cancer. The Tumour Microenvironment Team investigates the multicellular context of solid tumours to understand the molecular mechanisms regulating cancer progression and dissemination. The ultimate goal of these studies is to yield important insights into cancer biology leading to improved strategies for cancer therapy. To achieve this, we collaborate with academics, clinicians and engineers in a multidisciplinary approach, integrating experimental cancer models, murine and patient-derived material, complex in vitro and in silico systems and high throughput genomics and bioinformatics. 

• Cytoskeletal regulators of cancer dissemination. Our team is interested in understanding why and how cancer cells spread through the body. Using state-of-the-art in vitro approaches and pre-clinical models, we study the reciprocal interactions between invading/metastatic cells and their microenvironment, and the molecular rearrangements that promote efficient metastatic behaviours in cancer cells, with a particular emphasis in the modulation of the cytoskeleton.

• Mechanisms of stromal reprogramming in cancer. We investigate the environmental cues (chemical or physical) and signals from malignant cells that lead to the emergence of tumour-promoting phenotypes in otherwise normal cells of the tumour microenvironment, with a particular focus in cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF). Using molecular and bioinformatics tools, we examine patterns of gene expression and signal activation in cancer stroma. We then investigate the effect of reciprocal interactions between cancer cells and normal cells in these patterns, their relevance in tumoural processes and strategies to perturb them to deter tumour progression.

• Characterisation of the role of CAF heterogeneity in tumour progression. We have developed in vitro and in vivo systems to investigate CAF behaviour, their contribution to the hallmarks of cancer (e.g. cancer cell growth, invasion, angiogenesis, immune suppression), and the molecular mechanisms controlling them. However, there is molecular and functional heterogeneity within the CAF population, which has a major impact in tumour evolution and therapeutic response. Our team aims at examining this diversity and its contribution to metastatic dissemination and resistance.  

Funding 

Studentships to my team