Persister cells are a unique, small sub-population of cancer cells that maintain viability under anti-cancer treatments. These cells do not harbor classic resistance-mediating genetic mutations, and their drug-resistance phenotype is thought to be reversible. This unique capability is believed to be the root of the emergence of drug-resistant tumors; therefore there is a great need to find novel ways to eliminate persisters. We aim to better characterize persisters and their vulnerabilities by applying high throughput techniques, clonal analysis, drug screens and “omics” methods.
Tumor microenvironment, tumor microbiome and resistance to anti-cancer therapy
