Bio

Molecular Drivers of Cancer Progression and Therapy Resistance

The Simpson Laboratory investigates the molecular mechanisms that drive cancer progression, with a focus on how tumor cells acquire microenvironment-specific metabolic advantages that promote their survival and invasive progression. Prostate cancer growth is strongly influenced by steroid hormone metabolism, and the group studies how steroid-metabolizing enzymes regulate hormone dependence and shape tumor responses to therapeutic intervention. Complementary efforts use integrative omics approaches to examine how cancer cells repattern their own metabolic capacity and flux of intermediates during evolution of therapy resistance. The lab further examines how metabolic adaptations within the tumor promote remodeling of the extracellular matrix and tissue architecture to enable invasive growth and metastatic spread, dissecting signaling pathways and cell–cell communication mechanisms that promote disease progression. The respective roles of tumor cells, extracellular vesicles, and cells within the microenvironment, and the molecular mechanisms underlying their co-evolution are key areas of interest. Together, this research advances mechanistic understanding of aggressive prostate cancer and identifies pathways relevant to improved therapeutic strategies.