SEMINAR
Tumors as complex ecosystems: Diversity, immunotherapy and the microbiome
Guim Aguadé-Gorgorió
The Institute of Evolutionary Science of Montpellier (ISEM)
SEMINAR | Tumors as complex ecosystems: Diversity, immunotherapy and the microbiome
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abstract
Tumors as complex ecosystems: Diversity, immunotherapy and the microbiome
Many cancers resist therapeutic intervention. This is fundamentally related to intratumor heterogeneity: like species in an ecosystem, multiple cancer populations with different phenotypic signatures coexist inside a tumor. In this brief talk I will present recent results from theoretical ecology that could help us better understand the complexity of heterogeneous tumors. I will also discuss the ecological interactions between cancer and two other complex systems, the immune system and the gut microbiome, with implications across a wide range of diseases. The goal is to propose open questions and a potential roadmap for further research in the ecological complexity of cancer, the immune system and the microbiome.
speaker
Guim Aguadé-Gorgorió
The Institute of Evolutionary Science of Montpellier (ISEM – University of Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, CIRAD, INRAP)
I am a physicist studying complex adaptive systems, with a special interest in understanding how ecosystems react to global change. I am a visiting postdoctoral fellow at ISEM, collaborating with Dr. Sonia Kéfi to explore the nature of abrupt transitions in complex networks of many interacting species. Understanding the underpinning mechanisms of these so-called « regime shifts », with small perturbations able to induce large changes towards deteriorated ecosystem states, represents a necessary step in the face of climate emergency. To explore this, my interdisciplinary approach takes advantage of current mathematical developments in statistical physics and complex networks combined with in-silico ecosystem simulations and data of community-level shifts.
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For inquiries about this event please contact the Scientific Events Coordinator Ms. Núria Hernández at nhernandez@crm.cat
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