Research programme
Cell-cycle duration and transformation
We study why an oncogenic mutation can be harmless in most cells yet transform a specific developmental or lineage context.
Central question
What makes one cell competent for malignant transformation while another cell carrying the same oncogenic defect remains resistant?
Oncogenic mutations do not transform all cells equally. The laboratory studies the cell-intrinsic properties that determine whether a cell responds to a cancer-causing lesion with proliferation, death, differentiation or resistance. This question connects developmental state, lineage identity and the kinetics of cell-cycle control.
Recent work showed that cell-cycle duration itself can determine transformation capacity. By comparing susceptible and resistant cells across tissues and oncogenic drivers, the group aims to define general rules that explain tissue tropism and reveal ways to push vulnerable cells into a non-transformable state.