My research is centred on renal cell carcinoma, one of the most common genitourinary cancers.
Specifically on investigating the cellular and molecular processes that lead to emergence of therapy-resistant renal cell carcinoma, in particular anti-angiogenic and immunotherapy, and novel ways to interfere with the aberrantly regulated mechanisms in cancer cells. I am actively pursuing approaches to understand tumour heterogeneity, shifting from tumour-centred approaches in search for drug resistance mechanisms, and instead focusing on microenvironment-initiated molecular cues with ultimate aim to identify new drug/combination treatments targeting both tumour and its microenvironment. Given the high metastatic potential of renal cell carcinoma to the bone (osteotropic cancer), a preferable metastatic site for most genitourinary tumours (prostate and bladder), an active research part is focused on the cellular mechanisms of bone homing and escape of immune surveillance in circulation as well as in the bone microenvironment.
