Daniela C. Cerezo-Wallis, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (Spain) Area of Research: All Cancers Chronic inflammation is a hallmark of almost all cancers, and is caused by the accumulation of immune cells, such as neutrophils, that the tumor converts for its own purposes. Instead of fighting and eliminating malignant cells, the tumor disrupts their development so that instead they’re reprogrammed to support cancer initiation and progression. Neutrophils dominate the immune landscape in many types of solid tumors, and their presence has been associated with poor patient outcomes. Thus, understanding the mechanisms by which cancer cells hijack the development and function of neutrophils is of the utmost importance. Dr. Cerezo-Wallis aims to characterize how this development process is altered during cancer progression. Using state-of-the-art technologies and integrative bioinformatics tools, she will create a map describing the neutrophil developmental trajectories that accompany tumor initiation and progression. Through these studies, her aim is to identify novel therapeutic targets to treat cancer, especially for those neutrophil-rich types of cancers that don’t respond to current immunotherapies. Projects and Grants Reprogramming Neutrophil Fates to Fight Cancer Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (Spain) | All Cancers | 2021 | Andrés Hidalgo Alonso, PhD
