Cancer is a complex disease that is an aberration of our own tissues, but it still obeys fundamental biological rules. Our greatest challenge in the clinic is the emergence of resistance to our therapies, a process which is governed by Darwinian evolution. Using a suite of mathematical and experimental models, my laboratory seeks to deconvolute the complexity of the evolutionary process into fundamental principles. We aim to use this knowledge to then curtail the evolutionary process to increase the efficacy of targeted therapies and radiation. This same knowledge can be further harnessed to understand the differences in disease progression and therapy response on a personalized basis, so that the right treatment can be given to the right patient at the right time.
I am a veteran of the US Navy submarine force turned academic physician-scientist. Our lab pursues research decomposing the complexity of cancer through mathematical modeling and the biological and clinical validation of these models. My educational background in physics, medicine, mathematics and engineering gives me a unique perspective on cancer and systems biology and I am able to communicate and collaborate with professionals across many disciplines. I have worked extensively on mathematical modeling of cancer evolution and treatment using a variety of models including evolutionary game theory, cellular automata, differential equations and Markov chains. My DPhil thesis focused on the role of heterogeneity, both genetic and microenvironmental, on cancer evolution and radiation response, and my laboratory’s focus is cancer evolution and therapy resistance. Since starting Theory Division, we have begun to diversify, and the lab now has a significant experimental component, conducting experimental evolution in cancer cell lines as well as bacteria. The combination of mathematics, experimental evolution and a clinical focus makes our laboratory stand out as one of the most interdisciplinary in the field of translational cancer evolution and evolutionary medicine. I am eager to use my distinct perspective to help advance this field to help cancer patients.