Cancer Biology Research Program Leader
Tiffany N. Seagroves, MBA, PhD, PMP
Professor, John W. Deming Department of Medicine, Section of Hematology & Medical Oncology
tseagroves@tulane.edu
Overarching program goal:
Discover cancer-driving mechanisms of tumor initiation, progression, and metastasis to foster collaborative translational research efforts that bridge basic and clinical studies to improve cancer survivorship and quality of life for patients. Current strengths: understanding signal transduction, hormonal responses in cancer, apoptosis, and multi-cellular, paracrine crosstalk within the local tumor microenvironment.
Aim 1: Define the tumor cell-intrinsic mechanisms that regulate tumor initiation, progression, metastasis, or therapeutic response.
- Elucidate the mechanisms that initiate tumorigenesis, regulate cell signaling pathways, and drive tumor progression and therapy response, focusing on tumor-cell intrinsic mechanisms.
- Foster collaboration with all TCC thematic programs to develop new biomarkers and therapeutics and to translate research into our community and the State of Louisiana.
- Foster collaboration with all TCC thematic programs to develop new biomarkers and therapeutics and to translate research into our community and the State of Louisiana.
- Integrate findings with advanced imaging and molecular profiling techniques to map the continuum from tumor initiation to metastatic dissemination.
- Dissect the role of cancer stem-like cells in tumorigenesis.
Aim 2: Define the role of the local tumor microenvironment, including paracrine interactions of tumor cells with stromal cells, to regulate tumor initiation, progression, metastasis, or therapeutic response.
- Identify requisite cell signaling pathways that promote tumorigenesis that future therapeutic interventions may target.
- Develop and optimize engineering-based approaches, such as biomaterials and computational models, to study tumor microenvironment dynamics and paracrine signaling between tumor and stromal cells.
- Leverage partnerships with the TU Institute for Integrative Engineering for Health & Medicine
- Advance the design of novel immunotherapy strategies by enhancing the precision of immune checkpoint inhibitors and by engineering tumor-specific delivery systems.
- Explore how the local tumor microenvironment modulates immune cell recruitment to the tumor and downstream immune responses, identifying new therapeutic avenues to overcome resistance to immunotherapies.
Aim 3: Integrate findings from Aims 1-2 and explore the role of biologic variability and the influence of modifiable factors on cancer biology and therapeutic responses.
- Examine the influence of modifiable factors, including diet, alcohol consumption, and physical activity, on tumor inflammation and metabolic dysregulation, identifying therapeutic targets for early intervention.
- Leverage partnerships with Pennington Biomedical Research Center.
- Explore the role of hormones as a biological variable in tumor-stroma interactions and systemic immune responses, uncovering new insights into personalized cancer treatment.
- Leverage partnerships with the Tulane Sex Biology and Medicine and Tulane Diabetes research programs to investigate how sex-based differences and diabetes influence cancer initiation, progression, and response to therapy, including immunotherapies.
