Chen focuses on the molecular mechanisms of brain metastasis originating from primary tumors like breast cancer, and the interplay between cancer cells and the stromal cells that populate the brain microenvironment.
After obtaining her M.D. degree in China, Chen decided to switch her career path from clinical medicine to basic research with a singular goal: to gain a better understanding of cancer biology so we can one day provide effective treatments and perhaps even cures. She came to the United States to pursue her graduate research career at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. After obtaining her Ph.D., she joined the group of Joan Massagué, Ph.D., at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center as a postdoctoral fellow. In October 2015, Chen joined the Tumor Microenvironment and Metastasis Program at the Wistar Institute.
The Chen Laboratory
Emerging evidence indicates that metastatic outgrowth at distal organs requires the complex interplay between cancer cells and stromal cells, a process commonly referred to as “seed and soil hypothesis”. The “soil”, specifically the brain, is composed of distinct cell types: functional neurons and supporting glial cells. Not only does this unique brain microenvironment determine the outgrowth of metastatic cancer cells, but it also contributes to therapy resistance. Meanwhile, the “seeds”, or the invaded cancer cells, modify the surrounding brain stromal cells. Thus, the lab is applying innovative approaches to dissect the crosstalk between cancer cells and the brain microenvironment at various stages of metastatic development to identify potential targets to prevent and/or treat brain metastasis.
