DR-165 Dynamical modelling of somatic genomes: structural variation and tumour evolution

Cancer cells can have very high mutation rates, an effect known as genetic instability. This creates high levels of structural variation, where DNA is gained, lost, and rearranged over time, causing genes to be modified. This is important because versions of cells arise that can be resistant to cancer drugs. Structural variation and whole genome events occur in many solid tumours and understanding them is key to better diagnosis and treatment. In a similar way to how the weather is modelled we will use mathematical models and large amounts of data to try to understand the processes underlying structural variation.

Chris Barnes University College London United Kingdom