What We Do
The Cancer and Evolution Lab is researching fundamental concepts in neoplastic progression, the processes by which normal tissue becomes cancerous, for the purposes of developing better methods for cancer prevention and therapy. We are applying evolutionary biology, ecology, computational biology and genetics to the understanding of these problems. We are interested in all aspects of evolution in cancer, including the evolution of cells within tumors and normal tissues (“ somatic evolution“) as well as the selective effects of cancer on the evolution of multicellular organisms.
Neoplastic Progression
We developing methods to measure the evolutionary dynamics among cells of a tumor that drive progression from normal tissue to malignant cancers, and methods to prevent cancer based on slowing that evolution.
Therapeutic Resistance
We are developing evolutionary approaches to prevent the evolution of resistance to cancer therapies.
Peto's Paradox
We are discovering how large, long-lived animals such as elephants and whales suppress cancer better than humans (a problem called Peto's Paradox).
