How we do science

We believe in the power of big data to drive novel hypotheses. Our lab is a combination of dry and wet lab techniques. All projects start with the informatic profiling of a large dataset. That data could range from multi-omic sequencing of patient samples, to spatial transcriptomics, to genome scale CRISPR screens. From that dataset we work together to identify an exciting hypothesis which we test at the bench using translational systems.

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Metastasis

A cancer’s colonization of a distant organ, metastasis, is the major contributing cause of death in a variety of tumor types. Currently advanced, metastatic disease is considered incurable and patients have limited treatment options. Our group is trying to change that. By understanding what makes a metastatic cell survive, we hope to advance new therapeutic targets towards the clinic.

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Early Onset Cancers

Over the last decade there has been a huge increase in patients under 50 years old being diagnosed with cancers usually seen in much older populations. This is especially present in colorectal cancer. These patients typically present with extremely aggressive disease. In this project we work to understand the biology of this disease. Why is it increasing in young people? Why is it so aggressive? How can we treat it?

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Novel Therapeutic Targets

A number of life changing therapies have made it into the clinic; however, many patients still do not have effective therapies. Here we utilize genome wide screens to identify novel gene targets. We then use patient derived models to mechanistically validate the novel hits and advance them into the preclinical space.