Grant: Doctoral Award - Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships

Despite numerous advertising campaigns for breast cancer early detection as well as the avenue for new treatments, the progression of this disease remains a major cause of mortality in the population. Furthermore, it is known that 90% of breast cancer deaths are caused by metastasis and treatment resistance still present a major challenge. My research is therefore interested in understanding metastasis and cellular mechanisms used by cancer cells to colonize a distant organ. It has been previously demonstrated that AXL protein is involved in motility of cancer cells leading them to metastasize in distant organ. Our goal is to study the mechanisms by which AXL promotes metastasis. Thus, we use mouse models with breast cancer in whom we interfere with AXL activity. Through this study, it will be possible to learn about AXL role in breast cancer progression and make it an important target for treatment of metastatic cancers.