Unravel the cancer ecosystem

We will reveal how cancers develop, adapt and evolve as part of a complex ecosystem of signals, cells, tissues and the microbiome.

The more we learn about cancer, the more we realise that cancer cells do not exist in isolation. Like the ecosystems we observe in our natural world, cancers develop as part of a complex interconnected ecosystem. Our research is shedding new light on how cancer interacts with its environment as it adapts and evolves.

Our challenge is to unravel cancer’s complexity, evolution and ecosystems, and reveal new weaknesses that can be targeted by treatment. We will achieve this by examining and understanding cancer at unprecedented resolution.

We will decipher the fundamental mechanisms that drive cancer and how mutations affect the structure and function of key proteins within cancer cells. This will allow us to investigate how healthy cells remain stable and how cancer cells can become vulnerable. We will learn to predict and shape the path of cancer evolution – as a means of preventing or overcoming resistance to treatment.

Our researchers will create new tools and enhanced models of the disease to reveal how normal cells become cancerous and the mechanisms that drive their spread. Using cutting-edge technologies, we hope to find ways of mapping and disrupting the cancer ecosystem.

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