VCCC Alliance Breast Cancer Grand Round with Associate Professor Christine Chaffer

Modulating Cell State Dynamics to Prevent the Emergence of Chemotherapy Resistant Disease

31 May 2023

A ground-breaking new therapeutic paradigm could pave the way for more effective and personalised treatment options. Join Associate Professor Christine Chaffer to learn about an innovative approach that's aiming to prevent cell state transitions and the emergence of chemotherapy-resistant diseases.

Discover how "state-gating" therapies could limit cancer heterogeneity, metastasis, and therapy resistance, paving the way for more effective and personalised treatment options.

Associate Professor Christine Chaffer's presentation will explore the role of the androgen receptor (AR) signalling network in chemotherapy-induced plastic transitions and delve into the application of manifold learning techniques. These emerging computational tools offer the potential to effectively model cell state dynamics, providing a more accurate understanding of cell state landscapes and single-cell dynamic trajectories throughout tumorigenesis.

By attending this webinar, you will:

• Hear about the concept of state-gaining, and gain a comprehensive understanding of its role in targeting phenotypic plasticity and how it could potentially limit cancer heterogeneity, metastasis, and therapy resistance
• Learn about the role of AR signalling in the emergence of chemotherapy resistance in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC), providing a foundation for identifying potential therapeutic targets to prevent resistance development in similar cancers
• Discover how manifold learning techniques are emerging as computational tools for effectively modelling cell state dynamics in cancer research. 

Presenter

Associate Professor Christine Chaffer
Head of Cancer Cell Plasticity Lab and Co-Lead of Dynamics of Cancer Resistance Program
Garvan Institute of Medical Research

Dr. Christine Chaffer is the current Head of the Cancer Cell Plasticity Lab and Co-Lead of the Dynamics of Cancer Resistance Program at Garvan Institute of Medical Research. She has a Ph.D. in cancer biology from the University of Melbourne, and completed her post-doctoral studies at the prestigious Whitehead Institute of Biomedical Research, MIT in Cambridge, USA, under the mentorship of Professor Robert A Weinberg. Associate Professor Christine Chaffer's research focuses on understanding the mechanisms driving cancer metastasis and progression to therapy-resistant disease.