TWSCC · Trafficking of Wnt Signaling Components in Cancer

The Wnt cascade is an evolutionary conserved pathway that controls cell proliferation, differentiation and growth. Although mutations to this pathway are commonly associated with certain cancers (e.g. colorectal/breast cancer), other mechanisms that control Wnt activity, e.g. its intracellular trafficking regulation, has not received significant attention in the past. The objective of this fellowship is to use my existing knowledge of cell biology to map the trafficking routes that Wnt components take in normal cells, and to test if these routes are altered in cancers to sustain their proliferative capacity. This project will combine bioinformatic analysis to find lead candidates to further investigate in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster. By generating novel fly strains and using high-resolution imaging, I aim to advance our understanding on how Wnt components are trafficked in vivo.