Cancer Cell Biology Laboratory

The tumour microenvironment (TME) comprises different cell types, including tumour, endothelial and immune cells. These cells interact with one another and can promote pro-tumour properties such as chemoresistance, angiogenesis and metastasis. One form of cellular communication involves extracellular vesicles (EVs), which carry proteins, RNAs and lipids and can transfer this information between cells to change their function. Our laboratory studies how different stimuli, including chemotherapy, hypoxia and diet, regulate the biogenesis and secretion of EVs produced by tumour cells, and how these EVs modulate the TME to promote tumour progression.