Tumour Microenvironment Lab
IBBTEC (CSIC/Universidad de Cantabria)
We are a team of scientists that uses a wide range of techniques from conventional cell and molecular biology, through in vivo models and analysis of clinical material, to study the role of the tumour microenvironment in cancer progression, dissemination and response to therapy. We are interested in investigating how mechanical forces alter cell behaviour and their affect in tumorigenesis, with a particular emphasis on their impact in the tumour microenvironment and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). Our work has described how tumour mechanics promotes tumorigenic behaviours in CAFs via the mechanotransducer YAP (Calvo et al Nat Cell Biol 2013, Ferrari et al Nat Commun 2019). We are pro-actively collaborative and have established collaborations with clinicians, bioengineers and biophysics to address our goals. We are also strongly committed to the training and formation of the next generation of scientists and the dissemination of our findings to the society.
