Joaquín Araos Henríquez jea70@cam.ac.uk
Chile
Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, Queens' College
PhD thesis: Understanding the role of the ageing tumour microenvironment in pancreatic cancer
Research interests:
1. Cancer Biology
2. Pancreatic Cancer
3. Ageing
4. The Tumour Microenvironment
My PhD focuses on understanding how ageing affects the tumour microenvironment in pancreatic cancer and how this influences tumour progression. Pancreatic cancer is a highly lethal disease characterized by a large abundance of non-malignant cells, such as fibroblasts, which play key roles in promoting therapy resistance and tumour growth. Moreover, pancreatic cancer is predominantly prevalent in elderly patients, making its management and treatment more challenging for clinicians. Recent reports in other malignancies have highlighted that ageing can dramatically impact the tumour microenvironment; however, we still do not understand how ageing influences its microenvironment and, furthermore, how the ageing microenvironment impacts pancreatic cancer progression and therapy resistance. By using three-dimensional co-cultures of fibroblasts and tumour organoids, mouse models and single-cell transcriptomics analyses, I aim to identify the molecular mechanisms by which the ageing microenvironment interacts with cancer cells and affects tumour growth in pancreatic cancer.
Who or what inspired you to pursue your research interests?
Pancreatic adenocarcinoma was once considered a rare type of cancer; however, its worldwide incidence has increased two to three times in the last twenty years. Much of this increment is due to the growing elderly population worldwide. In a rapidly changing world, cancer researchers must work cooperatively with clinicians in order to overcome these challenges and treat patients effectively. My motivation comes from my passion of understanding how cancer uses complex biological networks to escape therapy and promote tumour growth, so we can use this knowledge against it.