Researcher Database
Prof. Dr. Anna Dubrovska
OncoRay - National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, Medizinische Fakultät Dresden Carl Gustav Carus
Händeallee 26
01307 Dresden
Program
Radiation Oncology and Imaging (ROI)
Summary
The cancer stem cell hypothesis proposes that a small cell population called cancer stem cells (CSC) is responsible for tumor formation and metastasis due to its ability to self-renew, differentiate and migrate. Moreover, this population has been implicated to therapy resistance and tumor recurrence. It has been argued that the standard cancer therapy eliminates bulk tumor cells but not a CSC population, eventually leading to relapse. This concept of tumorigenesis suggests that tumors will not recur if no CSC had survived, and therapies that also target CSC populations may lead to more effective cancer treatments. Biomarkers that are deregulated in CSC are of special interest because they not only serve as potential targets in cancer therapy but also may be used to predict treatment outcome. The number of CSC and their intrinsic determinants of radiosensitivity vary between tumors affecting their radiocurability. Therefore, CSC-associated markers are an example of predictors for radiocurability that can be prospectively used for individualized tailoring of treatment. Emerging high throughput screening technologies employing functional cell-based approaches, comprehensive genomic and proteomic analysis expand our knowledge regarding the role of genes and proteins in the regulation of CSC properties and allow us to develop new predictive biomarkers and therapeutic strategies.
The objectives of our study are:
-Characterization of new CSC-related biomarkers for the development of predictive tests based on CSC density, distribution and sensitivity to therapy.
-Identification of small molecules which can specifically target CSC to restore tumor radio- and chemo responsiveness.
-Understanding the genetic programs and biological processes underlying cancer stem cell biology.
DKTK Junior Group Leader for Cancer Systems Biology
Single-cell approaches have not only revealed a wide variety of cell states, characterized by cells exhibiting striking differences in their transcriptional profile, but have also illuminated the mechanisms underlying state transitions in health and disease. Cellular plasticity and adaptive state changes have recently emerged as a basis for therapeutic resistance in cancer, and a better understanding of how cell state transitions are regulated is critical to develop therapeutic approaches that can overcome therapy resistance.
Our research focuses on understanding the mechanisms driving non-genetic cellular heterogeneity and therapy resistance in malignancy. Using novel single-cell sequencing approaches, we seek to develop new experimental and computational strategies to define altered cell states in both, cancer and immune cells. Our aim is to leverage a data driven strategy combined with single cell genomics and systems biology to address the challenges posed by heterogeneity in cancer, and to develop new strategies to overcome it, with the aim of translating laboratory-based findings into the clinic.