Current and Emerging Methods in Tumor Biology

TOPICAL COLLECTIONS

Guest Editors

Crismita Dmello

Northwestern University

Dr. Dmello has an extensive background in cancer biology and molecular biology fields, with specific training and expertise in cell signaling and oncogenesis. She has been able to work in diverse fields and get expertise on a wide range of research questions and techniques. Her PhD thesis work was focused on understanding the role of intermediate filament protein vimentin, in the development and progression of cancer. She did a brief post-doctoral work on identification of interactors of Plasmodium falciparum protein P2 on the surface of malaria infected erythrocytes. Her current work in Dr. Sonabend’s laboratory focuses on identification of predictive markers for response to PTX and identification of kinases implicated in resistance to T-cell mediated immune response and immunotherapy for glioblastoma (GBM) using large-scale CRISPR screens.

Saie Mogre

The Pennsylvania State University

Saie is a PhD candidate at the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences at the Pennsylvania State University, University Park. She received her master’s in Molecular and Cell Biology in 2014 from Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, and a bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology in 2013 from Padmashree Dr. D. Y. Patil University, Navi Mumbai, India. Her doctoral research in Dr. Adam Glick’s lab focuses on understanding the molecular basis of ER stress-dependent and -independent roles of the unfolded protein response sensor IRE1a in early stages of non-melanoma skin cancers using monolayer and multicellular spheroid cultures. With an extensive background in cancer cell signaling, cancer model development, and genomics, her research interests are to understand complex biological pathways facilitating the interaction between cancer cells and tumor stroma during the acquisition of carcinogenic potential.

Collection Overview

Tumor biology is a broad field encompassing the study of cancer cells concerning its development, progression, and metastasis. Investigating cancer cell behavior, mechanisms, and interactions with the tumor microenvironment has become increasingly important to understanding cancer progression and has been instrumental in developing effective therapies as viable treatment approaches. To that end, we want to focus on innovative, novel, and rigorous methods in the field of tumor biology for this special issue. We welcome methods related, but not limited to, the assessment of the tumorigenic and metastatic potential of cancer, development of effective models and assays, imaging-based methods for live-cell dynamics and interactions, tumor metabolism, and immuno-oncology, pertinent to both solid and blood malignancies. This Methods Collection will present experimental methods and techniques to facilitate repurposing and exchanging of the methodologies between different cancer types. Finally, we hope this issue will provide researchers and the scientific community new insights into strategies for comprehending several unexplored yet important aspects of tumor biology.