The Tow Center for Developmental Oncology has several ongoing research collaborations within and outside of MSKCC. If you’d like to learn more or be part of these projects, please reach out to [email protected] or the scientific lead as noted below.
Integrative Sarcoma Discovery Atlas
The Integrative Sarcoma Discovery Atlas Project supports a comprehensive immuno-proteo-genomic profiling effort of childhood and young adult sarcomas. The project consists of retrospective and prospective studies overseen by the Atlas Working Group, comprised of membership from the MSK Tow Center for Developmental Oncology, Sarcoma Center, Department of Pediatrics, Center for Adolescent and Young Adult Cancers, Experimental Immuno-Oncology Center, Departments of Surgery, Medicine, Human Oncology & Pathogenesis Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, and the MSK Computational Oncology Program. The project involves collaborators with diverse expertise with the common goal of identifying carcinogenic, immunologic, and physiologic mechanisms as well as therapeutic targets in diverse patient sarcomas.
Synthetic integration of high-resolution molecular data, including whole-genome long-read DNA sequencing and genome-scale proteomics, combined with single-cell and spatial measurements is designed to produce comprehensive molecular maps of human tumors, ultimately leading to transformative biological insights and therapeutic strategies. The goals include discovery of improved therapeutic targets such as tumor specific antigens, aberrant signaling pathways and mutational mechanisms, definition of immune and stromal responses, and elucidation of rare sarcomas, and mechanisms of drug resistance and tumor evolution. All data are managed using the MSK institutional data governance framework and available to the community via CBioPortal.
Cancer Proteomics Therapeutics Initiative
TCDO’s Proteomics Initiative supports the institutional development of improved methods for cancer proteomics, in collaboration with the SKI Proteomics Core and Clinical Proteomics Laboratory in the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, and promotes dissemination of novel tools to the basic and translational science community. The Initiative is working on improved methods for comprehensive proteomics for the discovery of cancer neoproteins, unbiased immunopeptidomics methods for discovery of therapeutic neoantigens, ultrasensitive proteomics for the analysis of cancer stem cells and minimal residual disease, as well as blood plasma proteomics for improved cancer diagnostics and clinical applications. For example, the Initiative recently implemented integrative proteogenomics for the discovery of cancer proteomes, now available as an open tool via the MSK Bioinformatics, Genomics, and Proteomics Core Facilities.
Investigational Diagnostics
TCDO supports diverse institutional efforts to develop improved disease diagnostics. For example, in collaboration with the Department of Pediatrics, Department of Medicine, and Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, we are working to improve the clinical management of pediatric and adult oncology patients at risk of invasive infections and immune complications. This project is developing improved assays for the identification of patients with neutropenic sepsis and cytokine release syndrome using blood plasma proteomic and metagenomic technologies.