Dr Ryan Mathew

The research in the Stem Cell and Brain Tumour group, which I co-lead with Dr Heiko Wurdak focuses on brain cancer (glioma), which is currently incurable. The 5-year survival time for the highest grade of these tumours is below 5% and a better understanding of the cellular mechanisms that mediate brain tumour progression, recurrence and transformation from a lower-grade is urgently required. We are interested in the development of new therapeutic approaches (e.g. small molecules, nanomaterials, biotherapeutics), new models that better recapitulate the specific disease characteristics of individual patients, and how well we can monitor and visualise cellular behaviour at the single cell level and in real-time – partiuclarly the brain cancer cells that remain in the margin zone after debullking surgery as it is these cells that are responsible for recurrence and treatment resistance.

Accordingly, we employ a  2-pronged research strategy that aims to provide i) a better understanding of tumour-promoting mechanisms at a systems biology level, for example using small molecules, cellular phenotyping, and chemical biology, and ii) an improved spectrum of personalised cancer models via stem cell, induced pluripotency, organoid, and in vivo modelling approaches. Based on this overarching strategy, we aim to shed light on the molecular link between metabolism and chaperone function, in particular in the context of cancer cell metabolic rewiring. Furthermore, we are interested in elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying a malignant self-renewal capacity leading to 'differentiation blockage' in cancer stem-like cells and the role of cell-fate plasticity in brain tumour progression.