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Research Area:听Breast cancer dormancy
Department:听Biochemistry
Faculty supervisor: Dr. William Muller
Tell us a bit about yourself:
I鈥檓 a second-year master鈥檚 student and will be fast tracking as a PhD student next month. I completed my undergrad at the University of British Columbia in microbiology and immunology. Throughout my life, I鈥檝e moved quite a bit as I love travelling and exploring. My favorite destination has to be Alaska 鈥� I got to see some amazing wildlife and beautiful scenery!
- Congratulations on your nomination as co-president of the Goodman Cancer Student Society. Why did you put yourself forward? What do you hope to achieve?
Last year I was co-hosting the spotlight series and led many of the social activities. Now that the centre has become an institute, I also feel like we have many opportunities to grow as a student society.
One of the things I鈥檇 like to implement is to make scientific communication more accessible to the public, especially to young students. I think it鈥檚 also very important to make our cancer research available to people directly affected by the disease. Patients and their families would greatly benefit to know what鈥檚 happening at our benchtop as research can often bring hope to people鈥檚 lives.
- Tell me about your research. What are your most interesting findings?
I鈥檓 studying breast cancer dormancy which are cancer cells that hibernate and often go clinically undetected. There are certain triggers that wake these dormant cells up again, and once they emerge, are often much more aggressive. I鈥檓 studying the processes that govern tumour dormancy in breast cancer.
Using a genetically engineered mouse model, we found that both cancer cell intrinsic and extrinsic factors collaborate to promote tumour recurrence, including genetic aberrations and the remodelling of the tumour microenvironment.
- Why did you decide to go into cancer research?
From a young age, I was always intrigued by the disease. I was hearing more and more about it, especially during my undergraduate studies. I chose cancer research to have a better understanding of the complexity within the tumour by using in vivo models to study the mechanisms behind breast cancer.
- What have you learnt about yourself since the pandemic?
I miss reading for leisure! As a graduate student, you鈥檙e expected to read around research, but the pandemic has shown me that I love to read books in general.
- How would you describe your overall experience at the Goodman Cancer Institute (GCI)?
My experience at the GCI has been very good, I鈥檝e received a lot of support. I鈥檝e had opportunities to do great research, establish unique collaborations, and consolidate my leadership skills through the Goodman Cancer Student Society.
- What are your future plans?
After completing my PhD, I hope to work in research and development of cancer therapeutics. My goal is to integrate the biology of tumour dormancy to develop candidate drugs that can synergize with current treatments to avert cancer recurrence.
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Yu can be reached via:
LinkedIn -
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