James Conway, PI, Academy Research Fellow
Docent in Cancer Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
Academy of Finland postdoctoral fellow, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellow, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
PhD in Intravital Microscopy, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, Australia
I started my lab at the University of Helsinki in 2024 with the goal of building a more complete understanding of cancer metastatic progression, and in particular, the role of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in that process. Building on my postdoc experience in the lab of Prof. Johanna Ivaska at the University of Turku we are continuing to develop phenotypic screening approaches to expand our mechanistic understanding of cellular responses to a range of ECM compositions and stiffnesses. In particular, we are interested in how treatment responses change in different environments, and conversely, how the TME is influenced by therapeutic intervention.
We are also continuing to apply the three-dimensional (3D) in vitro assays and intravital microscopy approaches that I learnt during my PhD in the lab of Prof. Paul Timpson at the Garvan Institute in Sydney, Australia. With these skillsets as a backdrop, we are now investigating the relationship between the tumour microenvironment (TME) and metastatic progression by developing tools to detect intravasation events and to track the changes that occur from the moment a cancer cell chooses to leave the primary site.
