Research Interest: We know that tumors become incredibly genetically diverse at the cellular level through Darwinian-like evolution. This intratumoral heterogeneity, and resulting diversity in clinically relevant traits, presents a major barrier to treatment and a mechanism for progression across cancer types. What we don’t know however - and what I am studying using techniques such as laser capture microdissection, RNA-ISH and In Situ PCR - are the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of this evolution.
I also develop spatial analysis and data analysis tools. Spatial organization of immune cell infiltration and the spatial interaction between tumor cells and different types of immune cells is a highly clinically relevant feature of tumors. It’s important to measure not just numbers of cells, but also spatial patterns that can be indicative of a coordinated immune response.
BSc Biopharmaceutical Science and Genomics, University of Ottawa, 2018