Kristian Pietras

Cancer is in its essence a disease of miscommunication. It is well known that the failure of tumor cells to communicate correctly internally is caused by genetic events leading to excessive cell growth. In addition, and perhaps equally important for the etiology of cancer, the malignant cell engages in external communication with multiple cell types populating its micro- and macroenvironment. We subscribe to the view that a tumor should be considered as a communicating organ in its own right, comprising multiple cell types that collectively evolve into a clinically manifested and deadly disease. With this proposition follows that decisive treatment benefit can only be achieved by targeting multiple, but distinct, cell types and signaling pathways that collectively sustain malignant growth. Our work is performed through an integrated set of experiments bridging basic biology, pre-clinical studies and molecular oncology with the ultimate aim of guiding the design of future clinical studies in cancer patients.

I was the Academy's Chair 2017–2018.