New approaches to cancer presented at Systems Biology symposium

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Thursday, June 15, 2017

Scientists from across the country gathered June 1 at West Campus for the Yale Systems Biology Institute (SBI) 2017 Symposium: Model Organisms in the Analysis of Invasive Cancers.

Opening the event, SBI Director, Andre Levchenko described the “Manhattan project” approach that he and colleagues are taking to addressing aggressive cancers. “Simple organisms can tell us big stories about how cells switch from growth to harmful invasion,” he said.

Bringing a diverse group of scientists to “sit around one table,” researchers across a spectrum of disciplines came together to share their novel research on some of the deadliest forms of cancer.

Last year, with support from a $9.5m grant from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health, the Systems Biology Institute and the Cancer Biology Institute joined forces in the Cancer Systems Biology @Yale (CaSB@Yale) program, to understand how cancer cells reach an aggressive state and begin damaging surrounding tissue.

Scientists from Yale, Duke University, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center presented the latest scientific insights - from cell membrane development and genetic regulation, to lessons from mammalian evolution and tumor microenvironments in zebra fish - that are leading to a new understanding in the way we treat cancer.