Mapping the ecosystems that permit metastasis

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.

Immune-excluded metastatic niches

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

Myeloid and neutrophil circuits in resistance

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

Organ-specific metastatic ecosystems

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

Tumour–host interactions and systemic immunity

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