Self-assembling matrixes to recreate the colorectal tumour niche (iCASE project with AZ)

Patient-derived in vivo models of human cancer have become a reality, yet their turnaround time is inadequate for clinical applications. Therefore, tailored ex vivo models that faithfully recapitulate in vivo tumour biology are urgently needed. This project aims to optimize an in vitro 3D organoid culture that would enable the study of the complexity of colorectal cancer and the effectiveness to drug response. To that end, we will use patient-derived organoids to optimize a novel peptide-based assembly platform that will represent a step-change in how putative anticancer drugs can be tested in vitro. In the long-term the outcome of this project may help to improve cancer patient's survival.