Dr. Andrew Nelson

This group is involved in several projects dealing with cancer genomics.

• Breast Cancer Translational Research: This work encompases a combination of bulk and spatial transcriptomic and spatial proteomic/high-plex imaging of human breast cancers combined with study of laboratory xenograft and mammary cancer models. The objective of these studies is characterization of mechanisms driving progression and metastasis in the complex tumor microenvironment. The researchers generate, store,  and analyze a combination of bulk RNA-seq, Nanostring nCounter, and Affymetrix microarray expression data on de-identified breast cancer samples. They are also generating significant datasets of spatial transcriptomic data on the Nanostring GeoMx platform, the Visium 10X platform, and upcoming on the Nanostring CosMx platform. Finally, they are generating IonPath MIBI datasets (spatial high plex mass imaging) and intend to generate Canopy CellScape high plex IF spatial imaging datasets.
• Ovarian Cancer Precision Medicine Initiative (OCPMI): This is a prospective, on-going research program. The group's objective is to study resistance to standard therapies, identify new therapeutic targets, and develop molecular signatures for patient stratification in ovarian cancer. This is a multi-PI project. This group is generating and analyzing a combination of bulk and single cell genomic, transcriptomic, and spatial high-plex imaging datasets.
• Endometrial Cancer Translational Research The researchers are studying genomic correlates of disease outcome and therapy response in endometrial cancer using targeted DNAseq panels for molecular stratification of surgically resected endometrial cancer to guide adjuvant chemotherapy.
• Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory Research and Development: As the Director of Research and Development for the M Health Fairview Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory, the PI directs and provides MSI resources for pre-clinical characterization of new diagnostic assays/pipelines for the laboratory. This is separate from the routine clinical work which routes through ClinicalMDL. They have numerous development projects across both germline genetics and oncology diagnostics.

Research by this group has been featured on the MSI website:

• August 2021: Macrophages Maintain Stable Mammary Environment
• July 2021: Precision Medicine for Ovarian Cancer
• August 2020: Improving Treatments for Breast Cancer