Amon Lab researchers seek to identify the gene markers that drive chromosomal instability and disease aggressiveness in prostate cancer. The mini-organ seen here was developed in the Vander Heiden Lab and modified to induce specific behaviors. In this image, cells express characteristic proteins for prostate (green) and cell division (red).

After authenticating their organoid model, the team joined forces with epidemiologists at Harvard’s School of Public Health who are tracking the prognosis of post-treatment cancer patients. Their collective goal is to model disease progression by correlating patient survival rates with disease markers identified in the lab.