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Add to Calendar 2025-03-25 12:00:00 2025-03-25 13:00:00 GuestSeminars@UCIBIO | Sérgia Velho Decoding the KRAS-Tumor Microenvironment Axis in Colorectal Cancer Sérgia Velho, Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S), Porto, Portugal   Host: Jorge Gonçalves, Mechanistic Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy Lab, UCIBIO Porto ZOOM link: https://ucibio.pt/l/GuestSeminars   Abstract: Currently an Assistant Researcher at i3S, Sérgia Velho leads a research program focused on the complex interplay between mutant KRAS colorectal cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment. Her goal is to target cancer by abrogating its interactions with the tumor microenvironment (Cancer Res, 2018; Cancers, 2019). In this field, she has contributed to understanding the role that cancer-associated fibroblasts – mutant KRAS colorectal cancer cell crosstalk plays in the modulation of colonic tumorigenesis (in preparation), cancer cell invasion (Int J Cancer, 2022), KRAS oncogenic signaling (Cells, 2022), and survival to KRAS silencing (Cancers, 2024). She has also uncovered how mutant KRAS colorectal cancer cells shape fibroblast properties (Cells, 2022). Her latest research extends to the tumor immune micro and macro environments, revealing that mutant KRAS intestinal tumor cells engage in long-distance communication with the bone marrow, altering immune cell populations and uncovering a novel mechanism of immune evasion in colorectal cancer. Overall, her findings emphasize that KRAS-driven malignancy cannot be dissociated from the tumor microenvironment, highlighting important implications for the understanding of tumorigenesis, resistance to KRAS inhibitors, and the development of better cancer treatments.   Short Bio: Sérgia Velho holds a BSc in Biology from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto and a Ph.D. in Human Biology from the University of Porto. She developed her expertise in oncobiology at IPATIMUP, where her Ph.D. research revealed distinct mutational patterns of KRAS, BRAF, and PIK3CA across molecular subtypes of gastrointestinal cancers, shedding light on subtype-specific oncogenic dependencies within the RAS pathway. Expanding on these insights, her postdoctoral work at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School (USA) demonstrated that KRAS and NRAS mutations arise in response to distinct inflammatory contexts, providing a deeper understanding of their differential mutational frequencies in colorectal cancer. Zoom Session UCIBIO info@simbiose.com Europe/Lisbon public
sérgia velho

Decoding the KRAS-Tumor Microenvironment Axis in Colorectal Cancer

Sérgia Velho, Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S), Porto, Portugal

 

Host: Jorge Gonçalves, Mechanistic Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy Lab, UCIBIO Porto


ZOOM link: https://ucibio.pt/l/GuestSeminars

 

Abstract:

Currently an Assistant Researcher at i3S, Sérgia Velho leads a research program focused on the complex interplay between mutant KRAS colorectal cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment. Her goal is to target cancer by abrogating its interactions with the tumor microenvironment (Cancer Res, 2018; Cancers, 2019). In this field, she has contributed to understanding the role that cancer-associated fibroblasts – mutant KRAS colorectal cancer cell crosstalk plays in the modulation of colonic tumorigenesis (in preparation), cancer cell invasion (Int J Cancer, 2022), KRAS oncogenic signaling (Cells, 2022), and survival to KRAS silencing (Cancers, 2024). She has also uncovered how mutant KRAS colorectal cancer cells shape fibroblast properties (Cells, 2022). Her latest research extends to the tumor immune micro and macro environments, revealing that mutant KRAS intestinal tumor cells engage in long-distance communication with the bone marrow, altering immune cell populations and uncovering a novel mechanism of immune evasion in colorectal cancer. Overall, her findings emphasize that KRAS-driven malignancy cannot be dissociated from the tumor microenvironment, highlighting important implications for the understanding of tumorigenesis, resistance to KRAS inhibitors, and the development of better cancer treatments.

 

Short Bio:

Sérgia Velho holds a BSc in Biology from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto and a Ph.D. in Human Biology from the University of Porto. She developed her expertise in oncobiology at IPATIMUP, where her Ph.D. research revealed distinct mutational patterns of KRAS, BRAF, and PIK3CA across molecular subtypes of gastrointestinal cancers, shedding light on subtype-specific oncogenic dependencies within the RAS pathway. Expanding on these insights, her postdoctoral work at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School (USA) demonstrated that KRAS and NRAS mutations arise in response to distinct inflammatory contexts, providing a deeper understanding of their differential mutational frequencies in colorectal cancer.

GuestSeminars@UCIBIO | Sérgia Velho