State: Washington

Funded by Hooters of America, LLC

Metastatic breast cancer is a result of breast cancer cells that spread to and grow in other organs. It is one of the most feared consequences of breast cancer, and the main cause of death from this disease. Yet, we still do not know what causes breast cancer cells to spread and become resistant to cancer treatment. For years, researchers have attempted to learn what makes individual cancer cells within tumors most able to migrate and grow elsewhere. My lab recently found that the cells that are the most successful at metastasizing do so as clusters. Clusters are also more resistant to cancer treatment. In this project, we will evaluate the different ways that tumor cells within these clusters communicate with each other. By studying these signals, how they are transmitted and their consequences, we may uncover the key vulnerabilities needed to disrupt and destroy tumor cell clusters. We will take advantage of a technology we invented that allows us to study ‘mini-tumors’ in a dish. We will also analyze the genetic code of the various cell types in the mini-tumors. We will then cross-reference what we learn with very large studies of breast cancer patients. Through shifting our mindset from the individual to the collective, our ultimate goal is to identify new leads for the development of therapies to treat – or prevent- metastasis so that we can save lives. 

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in the developed world and there is currently no cure for its most deadly and advanced form, castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). The pervasiveness of this disease, particularly in minorities such as African Americans, highlights the importance of studying prostate cancer progression in order to develop effective new treatments. Historically, cancer research has focused on understanding how normal cells become cancer cells by accumulating alterations in DNA and RNA, the genetic material of a cell. However, these studies focus on only part of the overall process of gene expression, and neglect to take into account the ultimate end process of gene expression, protein production. Exciting discoveries from my lab and others have shown that the protein synthesis machinery is essential for cancer. This process can be hijacked by cancer, leading to grave consequences such as metastasis and drug resistance. Moreover, we have found that there is a remarkable therapeutic opportunity to drug cancerous protein synthesis without affecting normal cells in the body. The primary focus of our laboratory is to understand the fundamental connections between cancer and its protein making factories.  We will employ a convergence of state-of-the-art genetic tools and genome-sequencing strategies to study how abnormal protein production leads to CRPC and drug resistance. Our studies will help identify patients whose cancers are addicted to aberrant protein synthesis and will accelerate the development and application of cancer therapies that target this poorly understood, but vital cellular process in cancer patients.