THE TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT
MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF METASTASIS
PHYSOCHEMICAL TRANSDUCERS OF ANGIOGENESIS AND METASTASIS USING 3D MICROFLUIDIC TUMOR MODELS
CLINICAL TRANSLATION
- Role of endothelial progenitor cells in regulating the angiogenic switch
- Role of bone marrow-derived myeloid cells in pulmonary metastasis
- Role of the tumor microenvironment in epithelial to mesenchymal transition
- Identification and targeting of the molecular pathways involved in switching bone marrow cells into pro-tumorigenic instigators
- An integrated analysis of the epigenome, transcriptome and microRNAs to determine the molecular landscape of tumor metastasis
- Mechanisms of tumor-initiated paracrine effects on the lung stroma
- Analysis of single disseminated tumor cells in NSCLC to identify genes affecting prognosis and response to therapy
- Dissecting the role of hypoxia, cytokines, mechanical forces, shear stress etc using 3D tumor models (in collaboration with biomedical engineers, Cornell University, Ithaca)
- Validation of preclinical observations in clinical samples
- Determine the diagnostic and therapeutic potential of candidate molecules identified in the above studies