CanCell "Young Shot" talk: "Prediction of Survival in Acute Myeloid Leukemia using ex vivo drug screens" will be given by Andrea Moen Brodersen, a PhD student at the Enserink lab.
Ross Cagan: "Ras-Driven Disease: Complex Therapies for a Complex Problem"
Abstract
Diseases such as cancer have seen a therapeutics revolution in recent years, led by the rise of precision medicine. Nevertheless, the majority of tumours fail to durably respond to current treatments, and cancer remains one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. Of special challenge is RAS-driven tumours, for which we still have few durable therapeutic options. Our laboratory uses Drosophila—plus broad collaborations with multiple laboratories and clinicians—to address the biology of cancer therapeutics. More recently, our studies extend to RASopathies, as I will discuss.
To explore genomic complexity we have generated dozens of genetically complex 'personalised fly avatar' cancer and RASopathy models, each matching an individual patient. We are using these avatars to explore emergent drug resistance including the impact of biological processes such as cell competition. We are also using these avatars in an open-label clinical trial to develop personalized drug cocktails designed to treat thyroid and colorectal cancer patients. Finally, we have developed a 'chemical evolution' platform to produce 'network-based' therapeutic compounds designed to address whole body complexity. Our overall goal is to leverage Drosophila as one tool in an integrated approach to cancer therapeutics.