Weinberg Lab

Former Whitehead Institute postdocs reflect on the impact of their time at the Institute.

Cancerous tumors are diverse communities of cells, which in addition to cancer cells may contain vascular cells, immune cells, and connective tissue-generating fibroblasts. Cancer cells can manipulate other cell types to help the cancer grow and spread, while cancer therapies can manipulate other cell types to prevent cancer growth or even kill cancer cells. As researchers learn more about how cancer cells interact with other cell types and components of the tumor microenvironment, they not only learn more about how cancer progresses, but also discover new opportunities to treat cancer.

Sunny Das is a postdoc in Whitehead Institute Member Robert Weinberg’s lab studying how breast cancer metastasizes or spreads to other tissues. We sat down with Sunny to learn more about him and his experiences in and out of the lab.

Researchers in Whitehead Institute Member Robert Weinberg’s lab identified two molecules active in cancer stem cells that control whether the cells can form new tumors.

The award recognizes Weinberg’s pioneering achievements in the field of cancer biology.
 

Researchers in the lab of Whitehead Institute Founding Member Robert Weinberg have determined how mesenchymal cancer cells may resist treatment, work that may allow them to make once-resistant tumors respond to certain cancer therapies.

Sonia Iyer is a postdoc in Whitehead Institute Founding Member Robert (Bob) Weinberg’s lab investigating ovarian cancer. We sat down with Iyer to learn more about her and her experiences in and out of the lab.

Anushka Dongre is a postdoc in Whitehead Institute Member Robert (Bob) Weinberg’s lab investigating how cancers spread and how the body’s own immune system can be used to fight them.