Groundbreaking Insights on MYC-Driven Cancers: Seminar with Dr. Dean Felsher

Today, we had the honor of hosting Dr. Dean Felsher, an outstanding investigator and head of the Felsher Lab at Stanford Medicine, for an enlightening seminar at PMCRT. Dr. Felsher, Stanford Medicine’s associate chief of medical oncology, translational research, and applied medicine, is renowned for his pioneering work on aggressive and untreatable diseases like MYC-driven cancers.

Despite the challenges in directly targeting MYC, Dr. Felsher’s research offers hope. His lab studies how oncogenes such as MYC initiate and maintain cancer, demonstrating that even brief suppression of these oncogenes can reverse cancer or induce “Oncogene Addiction.” Their research explores fundamental mechanisms of Oncogene Addiction, including self-renewal, metabolism, the host immune system, protein biogenesis, the microbiome, and extracellular vesicles. We were thrilled to learn about the innovative model systems his lab has developed to conditionally activate oncogenes in human and mouse cells.

It was a privilege to connect with Dr. Felsher and to host this seminar together with Dr. Tak Mak, Senior Scientist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.