Sylvie Mader and her team try to identify the causes of the diversity of mammary tumors and how they impact the response to the drugs used in breast cancer treatment. The group strives to better understand the response or resistance mechanisms to the drugs used in breast cancer treatment and to identify new therapeutic targets to optimize breast cancer treatment.

Research theme

Sylvie Mader and her team are working to better understand the mechanisms of response to or resistance against drugs used in cancer treatment and to identify new therapeutic targets to optimize patient survival. In particular, this team seeks to better understand the mechanism of action and vulnerabilities of major classes of drugs widely used in cancer treatment, including anti-estrogens and anthracyclines. In addition, the team is studying next-generation drugs to optimize their use or develop new, more effective molecules. Finally, the group seeks to identify the causes of the diversity of breast cancer subtypes in order to better personalize treatments.

Research objectives

Researchers in the group use genomics, proteomics, and bioinformatics approaches combined with in vitro or in vivo tumor formation models to study the response to therapeutic compounds and the epigenetic and transcriptional mechanisms underlying the diversity of breast cancer subtypes.

The team uses genome-wide genetic screening approaches based on the CRISPR-Cas9 gene inactivation technique to identify mechanisms of drug sensitivity and resistance in various cancer cell models (breast cancer, leukemias). This knowledge makes it possible to predict treatment resistance and identify more effective drug combinations.

Sylvie Mader’s team also uses spatial genomics approaches to characterize cells in the normal mammary gland and identify changes in their transcriptional profiles during tumor progression. Characterizing the function of genes associated with each breast cancer subtype provides further insight into the progression mechanisms specific to each subtype and the vulnerabilities associated with them.