Donnele Daley, MD
Assistant Professor, Surgery
Research Program
Cancer-Focused Research
The gut microbiome is the ecosystem of bacteria and other microorganisms that live in our digestive tract and helps shape metabolism, inflammation, and immune function. The gut microbiome has been associated with initiation and progression of many GI cancers, including pancreatic cancer. My lab investigates this largely understudied biological system in cancer patients to determine how the gut microbiome influences disease risk and tumor progression. Our models allow us to move beyond association and decipher how specific microbes isolated from cancer patients influence the differentiation and cellular behavior of epithelial, immune and stromal cell subsets in the tumor microenvironment. Our goal is to target the cellular mechanisms in which gut microbes potentiate disease and translate these findings into therapeutic interventions to assess risk, prevent disease, and improve treatment of GI malignancies. Our work bridges the fields of Cell Biology, Immunology, Microbiology, and Metabolism creating a collaborative multidisciplinary research program.