Research summary
Decoding the human genome increased our understanding of the genetic basis of cancer—yet we still face the same challenges in cancer care that we faced a decade ago: a lack of new drug targets and resistance to existing drugs. To identify new drugs and make better use of existing ones, we need to better understand the molecular and systems biology bases of how tumours form, progress and spread, and become resistant to drugs. As Canada Research Chair in Molecular and Epigenetic Basis of Cancer, Dr. Shawn Li aims to fill this knowledge gap.
He and his research team are focusing on developing new therapeutic strategies for cancer treatment by co-targeting tumour cells and the tumour ecosystem. They are also unravelling the mechanisms of immunotherapy resistance to develop novel immunotherapies and identifying the mechanisms of metastasis to inform new treatments for brain cancer. Ultimately, their work will establish the framework for advancing next-generation molecular-targeted therapies and/or immunotherapies.