Meet ECR, Dr. Sheng-Fang Su
Meet Dr. Sheng-Fang Su, an early-career researcher involved in the BeFIT project.
Funded project
BeFIT
Patient-derived models for intratumour functional heterogeneity and its implications for personalized medicine
Overview
BeFIT project: Patient-derived models for intratumor functional heterogeneity and its implications for personalized medicine
Our “BeFIT” (Belgium + France + Italy + Taiwan) Team focuses on the study of inter- and intra-patient heterogeneity, which represents a major driving force for drug resistance, tumor recurrence and metastasis.
We hypothesize that phenotypical heterogeneities of tumor and stromal cells may contribute to the adaptation of tumor growth under dynamic and stressful conditions of the tumor microenvironment by changing malignant and survival potential, especially under therapeutic and growth stresses.
To investigate the evolution of inter- and intra-tumoral heterogeneity and support pre-clinical drug screening, we established primary cancer stem cell/cancer-associated fibroblast co-culture systems and patient-derived xenograft models to mimic the tumor microenvironment in vitro and in vivo.
We identified important regulators of cancer plasticity and stemness, drug resistance and immune checkpoints that are significantly modulated during tumor heterogeneity and evolution under stress and could support novel anti-cancer precision-medicine strategies.
Project Coordinator:
- Pan-Chyr Yang, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taiwan
Project Partners:
- Cédric Blanpain, Interdisciplinary Research Institute (IRIBHM), Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
- Patrick Mehlen, Cancer Research Center of Lyon, Centre Léon Bérard, University of Lyon, France
- Sandro De Falco, Institute of Genetics and Biophysics “A. Buzzati Traverso”, Department of Biomedical Sciences, CNR, Italy
Interview
Meet Dr. Sheng-Fang Su, an early-career researcher involved in the BeFIT project.
Dr. Sheng-Fang Su is Project-Appointed Assistant Professor at the Graduate Institute of Oncology, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, and YongLin Scholar at the NTU YongLin Institute of Health, Taiwan.
How do you think this project has advanced our knowledge about therapeutic resistance in cancer?
As a young scientist focused on translational research in tumor biology, I endeavor to integrate genomic and epigenomic platforms with patient-derived models to overcome unmet needs in anti-cancer treatment. Tumors grow and co-evolve with a dynamic and heterogeneous microenvironment. Crosstalk between cancer cells, cancer stem cells and the stromal niche makes cancer difficult to cure.
Our study of intratumor heterogeneity, cancer-cell plasticity and cancer stemness in drug resistance and recurrence fits the aim of the TRANSCAN-2 JTC 2014 topic on translational research into human tumor heterogeneity. By using patient-derived models to mimic the tumor microenvironment in vitro and in vivo, the project can improve understanding and help develop personalised treatments.
What has TRANSCAN-2 funding meant to you?
With the support of TRANSCAN-2, I had the opportunity to work with the BeFIT teammates and share our enthusiasm for science, which is fulfilling and goes beyond funding.
How has the transnational collaborative aspect contributed to project success?
The transnational BeFIT team brings scientists and clinicians from different countries together to study tumor biology from bench to clinic, from basic mechanisms and modelling to pharmaceutical applications. It sparked brainstorming and open-minded scientific thinking.
Additional comments
Forming a successful team that stimulates scientific collaboration is not easy. I recommend long-term programme organisation and stable funding support so that this transnational collaboration can continue.