Dissecting the in vivo stromal metabolic and inflammatory crosstalk in colorectal cancer

SUMMARY This proposal seeks Dr. Angeles Duran’s salary support as a Research Specialist to support Dr. Jorge Moscat’s research program at the Weill Cornell Medicine Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine to study the role of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in colorectal cancer (CRC). Dissecting the role of these complex cellular interactions requires scientists with an in-depth understanding of the biology of these processes, but also with the required technical expertise in in vivo mouse models that faithfully recapitulate human disease, as well as the necessary bioinformatics tools to interrogate the TME of these models at the single-cell level. Therefore, with this Research Specialist Award, we intend to provide stable research opportunities for the exceptional scientist, Angeles Duran, to develop impactful research in this area of expertise. She has made seminal contributions in signaling, inflammation, metabolism and cancer and has a strong interdisciplinary training that will be critical for the success of the project. She will contribute to the research program focused on defining the molecular and cellular mechanisms that drives mesenchymal CRC, a desmoplastic and of poor prognosis type of cancer. With her expertise in cancer biology and her capacity to apply novel mouse models and bioinformatics approaches, she is filling a unique niche within the Moscat lab that will provide continuity, stability, and detailed scientific knowledge to achieve the aims of the NCI-funded grants. She will support this project with scientifically impactful in vivo models and bioinformatics approaches. Dr. Duran’s long-time expertise and dedication will advance our understanding of the role of TME in cancer progression to help design more effective therapies.