Advances in Biosciences Seminar - Speaker: Dr Richard White "What separates a melanocyte from a melanoma?"
| Dates: | 16 January 2024 |
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| Times: | 13:00 - 14:00 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health |
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| Who is it for: | University staff |
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| Speaker: | Richard White |
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The next Advances in Biosciences Seminar is taking place on Tuesday 16th January at 1pm in the Michael Smith Lecture Theatre. Dr Richard White will be talking about his visionary work understanding mechanisms of tumorigenesis and tumour progression in zebrafish models. Richard has recently moved to Oxford University from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center New York.
Title:
What separates a melanocyte from a melanoma?
Abstract:
During transformation, many cells can acquire oncogenic mutations, but relatively few go on to form cancer. The mechanisms underlying these different outcomes depends on epigenetic, microenvironmental and metabolic plasticity programs in the cell of origin. Using zebrafish as a model, I will discuss the various ways that tumour cells acquire emergent properties that enable tumour initiation and progression. This includes considerations of melanocytic differentiation state, electrical and mechanical interactions with the local tumour microenvironment, and lipid uptake by the nascent tumour.
Speaker bio:
Richard White, M.D., Ph.D, is a Professor at the University of Oxford and an adjunct faculty member at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. His lab is interested in the intersection between developmental biology and cancer biology. There are many parallels in these processes, including both cell-intrinsic fate decisions as well as cell-cell interactions in the microenvironment. Using both zebrafish and human pluripotent stem cell models of melanoma, his lab has described a mechanism called “oncogenic competence” that explains why DNA mutations are only sometimes able to initiate tumors. Such competence relies upon the expression of a neural crest developmental program orchestrated by transcription factors such as SOX10 and epigenetic factors such as ATAD2. Furthermore, the ability to initiate melanoma is strongly influence by the anatomic position of the cell along the body axis. Whereas cutaneous melanomas are enriched for BRAF mutations, acral melanomas more commonly harbor amplifications of genes such as CRKL. The anatomic specificity of these oncogenes depends upon the intrinsic HOX code present in the melanocyte of origin. Finally, his work has more recently investigated how cells in the TME such as keratinocytes and adipocytes promote melanoma progression and metastasis, acting through signaling and epigenetic mechanisms. He has been awarded the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, as well as awards from the Melanoma Research Alliance, the Pershing Square Foundation Award, the American Cancer Society, and the Mark Foundation ASPIRE award.
Speaker
Richard White
Role: Professor
Organisation: University of Oxford
Travel and Contact Information
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Michael Smith Lecture Theatre
Michael Smith Building
Manchester
