Led by Nelson Dusetti and Juan Iovanna, the PaCaTeam is composed of 25 multi-disciplinary members and has been officially created the 1st of January 2024. Who are they and what are their research areas?
Nicolas Fraunhoffer (post-doc), Patricia Santofimia-Castano (CR), Matias Estaras (post-doc), Xi Liu (PhD student), Emma Cosialls (post-doc), Emmanuel Telle (ITA), Mariane Obeid (Master 2), Philippe Soubeyran (CR), Dinah Ratovonindrina (PhD student), Julie Aglietti Roques (ITA), Odile Gayet (ITA), Anna Barthelemy Copley (Master 2), Renate Bonier (ITA), Vladimir Chocoloff (PhD student), Juan Iovanna (DR, team leader), Loic Moubri (ITA), Nelson Dusetti (DR, team leader), Frederic Andre (PU), Françoise Silvy (ITA), Eric Mas (DR), Oussama Hajji (Master 2).
Missing on the photo: Veronique Rigot (MCU), Sebastien Germain (ITA), Roselyne Tournaire (MCU), Marion Rubis (ITA), Analia Meilerman (post-doc), Mohamed Gasmi (PH), Laetitia Dahan (PU-PH), Emmanuelle Norguet (PH), Marc Giovannini (PH), Fabrice Caillol (PH), Vincent Moutardier (PU-PH), Bruno Olivier (ITA), Charles Vanbrugghe (PH), Amandine Lopez (student), Artemis Lucas (student), Pauline Duconseil (PH), Emmanuel Mitry (PH), Brice Chanez (PH), Flora Poizat (PH), Eloine Bestion (post-doc, Ongoing recruitment ) and Nikolai Paniushev (ITA, Ongoing recruitment).
Translational Research and Therapeutic Targets in Pancreatic Cancer:
Approximately 450,000 people worldwide die every year due to the pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), making it the most lethal cancer. Despite all the efforts made in research over the last few decades, its prognosis has not significantly improved, with a variable survival time after diagnosis ranging from 2 to 3 months to more than 5 years (only in 5% of cases). It is one of the most lethal cancers, primarily due to an often-late diagnosis, limited therapeutic options, the aggressive nature of the cancer, the resistance to chemotherapies, as well as the observed heterogeneity among patients. This heterogeneity can occur at multiple stages of tumor evolution, from the initial genetic mutations that gave rise to the tumor to its interaction with the microenvironment, and resulting from selection pressure and clonal expansion.
Our team focuses on the molecular aspects of PDAC development and progression to improve the currently available therapeutic approaches. Our team has centered its attention on three main areas:
- Signaling and metabolism by targeting NUPR1 for PDAC treatment (Juan Iovanna and Patricia Santofimia-Castaño);
- Role of the Intra-tumoral Microenvironment in Carcinogenesis by studying the angiogenesis and the microenvironment in PDAC (Roselyne Tournaire), the adhesive Networks and Invasion (Frederic Andre and Veronique Rigot) and finally,
- Translational research by the development of Personalized Treatments for PDAC (Nelson Dusetti and Juan Iovanna); Utilizing Aberrant Glycosylation Processes as Prognostic Factors and Therapeutic Targets (Eric Mas), studying the role of Post-Translational Modifications (PTMs) in PDAC Biology (Philippe Soubeyran) and Targeting Resistant Phenotypes of PDAC (Nicolas Fraunhoffer).