Ralph Francescone, Ph.D.
Address
2799 West Grand Blvd. Detroit, MI 48202Department
Oncology
Research interests
• Tumor microenvironment of pancreatic cancer
• Fibroblasts
• Neuronal Signaling outside of the brain
• Utilizing tumor interstitial fluid for early detection of pancreatic cancer
Research description
The Vendramini-Francescone lab is co-led by husband and wife duo Dr. Debora Barbosa Vendramini Costa and Dr. Ralph Francescone. The lab’s main research focus is on normalizing the tumor microenvironment in pancreatic cancer to improve outcomes for one of the deadliest cancers. Pancreatic cancer has an extremely unique tumor makeup, as more than half of the tumor cellular mass is composed of non-tumor cells, including immune cells and fibroblasts. Thus, the lab is dedicated to studying this phenomenon, the massive stromal expansion known as desmoplasia. Specifically, the lab is actively exploring the answers to these key questions: Why does desmoplasia occur to such a degree in pancreatic cancer? What are the initiating events? How is the stroma hijacked to support tumor progression? Can we normalize the stroma to improve therapeutic responses? The Vendramini-Francescone lab uses a wide variety of techniques and approaches to address these questions, including advanced mouse models of pancreatic cancer, gain and loss of function experiments utilizing state-of-the-art molecular biology techniques (CRISPR based methods), and translational approaches such as characterizing the tumor interstitial fluid isolated directly from patient surgical samples. Overall, the lab hopes to make meaningful contributions to the pancreatic cancer research field and push the needle forward to improve patients’ lives.