Our Research
Our lab investigates the somatic evolution of normal and neoplastic tissues. We hope to contribute fundamental insights into the evolutionary history of human cancer, from its earliest beginnings as a clonal expansion in otherwise healthy tissue to its latest stages as lethal systemic disease. While this is at the outset a basic science goal, hopefully the insights from our work will ultimately translate into medical advances. Read below to learn about specific areas of interest!
Normal tissue evolution and its implications for carcinogenesis
Our understanding of normal tissue evolution has experienced a revolution in recent years. We now know that clonal evolution is not restricted to malignancy but happens continuously in all our self-renewing tissues. These insights are transforming how we think about the genetic basis of cancer. Our lab is using various methods – analysis of human tissues, mathematical modeling, in vivo and in vitro models – to study the factors that shape normal tissue evolution and impact cancer risk. We aim to make conceptual advances that illuminate fundamental evolutionary laws.
Tumor progression and metastasis evolution
One of the lab’s main interest is metastasis evolution. Metastasis is a process that in humans takes place completely unobserved, over long time periods, and we know very little about it. Animal models are valuable tools for studying metastasis mechanistically, but only if we have an accurate picture of the metastatic process in humans, so that we can select the most appropriate models and ask the right questions. Studying metastasis in humans is challenging - it requires close collaboration between many disciplines. In our lab, clinicians and geneticists and mathematicians collaborate to get the most out of rare and valuable human tissue samples, with the ultimate goal of exposing the evolutionary mechanisms that govern metastasis formation.
Genetics, genomics and transcriptomics in human disease
In addition to our core focus on somatic evolution, the lab has many diverse interests in the genetics and genomics space. We love bioinformatics, computational biology and mathematical modeling and are always eager to use these tools to study human (patho-) biology. Check out the publications tab for examples of many exciting collaborations in this area.