LabNarrative concept · prepared as an independent design proposal

tumourmyeloidtcellstromalneutrophilvascular

spatial state immune interface metastatic niche

Tumour ecosystems · Immune landscapes · Metastatic niches

Seeing cancer as an evolving ecosystem

The Gao Laboratory maps how tumour cells, immune populations, stromal niches and distant organs interact to shape metastatic progression and therapeutic resistance, with a particular focus on breast cancer.

Explore the research↗Selected publications

01Spatial tumour–immune ecosystems02Myeloid and neutrophil biology03Organ-specific metastasis04Therapeutic resistance

Research framework

Cells become disease through their relationships.

A tumour is not an isolated mass of malignant cells. It is a spatially organised and dynamically changing ecosystem in which cancer cells exchange signals with myeloid cells, lymphocytes, stromal populations, vasculature and organ-specific niches. By resolving these interactions at single-cell and spatial scales, the laboratory identifies ecosystem states that permit immune exclusion, metastatic colonisation and treatment failure.

Research programmes

Mapping the cells, niches and pressures that shape disease.

Explore all programmes ↗

Immune-excluded metastatic niches

We map spatially organised niches that protect metastatic cells from immune attack, including immune-excluded states in bone.

Open programme ↗02

Myeloid and neutrophil circuits in resistance

We define how macrophage and neutrophil states support tumour evolution, systemic immunosuppression and resistance to therapy.

Open programme ↗03

Organ-specific metastatic ecosystems

We compare bone, lung, liver and brain metastases to understand how each organ selects and remodels tumour and immune states.

Open programme ↗04

Tumour–host interactions and systemic immunity

We investigate how solid tumours reshape hematopoiesis and host immunity beyond the local microenvironment.

Open programme ↗

YGTumour ecosystems · principal investigator

Principal investigator

Yang Gao, PhD

Assistant Professor, Cancer Biology and Genetics

Yang Gao investigates how tumour cells interact with immune populations, stromal niches and distant organs to generate metastatic progression and treatment resistance. His laboratory combines spatial, single-cell and in vivo approaches to identify ecosystem-level therapeutic vulnerabilities.

Meet the laboratory ↗

Selected work