THE  TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT 
  • 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   


MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF METASTASIS
  • 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      

PHYSOCHEMICAL TRANSDUCERS OF ANGIOGENESIS AND METASTASIS USING 3D MICROFLUIDIC TUMOR MODELS 
  • Dissecting the role of hypoxia, cytokines, mechanical forces, shear stress  etc  using  3D tumor models (in collaboration with biomedical engineers, Cornell University, Ithaca) 


CLINICAL TRANSLATION  
  • Validation of preclinical observations in clinical samples  
  • Determine the diagnostic and therapeutic potential of candidate molecules identified in the above studies