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About

My research focuses on the role of stem cell biology in breast development and cancer. Together with Professor Geoff Lindeman, the Breast Cancer Laboratory has a long-standing interest in the stem cell differentiation hierarchy, identifying molecular regulators of normal development and deciphering mechanisms that lead to breast cancer.

Current efforts are directed towards further understanding the normal epithelial hierarchy and the cell subtypes that are most susceptible to becoming transformed in vivo, the so- called ‘cells of origin’. We are searching for markers that enable further purification and in situ tracking of stem cells to enhance our understanding of the heterogeneity that lies within this pool, using a combination of transplantation and cell lineage tracing studies.

We are also identifying transcriptional and epigenetic regulators that act along the hierarchy using gene-targeted models and CRISPR/CAS9 technology. Promoter-specific strains built in the laboratory enable us to interrogate both mammary gland development and potential cells of origin of cancer.

Using the latest single cell and spatial platforms, we are interrogating tumour heterogeneity at the gene expression and epigenetic levels as well as mapping the location of diverse cells in the tumour microenvironment. In conjunction, we are using multiplexed immunostaining platforms with >40 antibodies to identify and localise stromal and immune cells more precisely within tumours.

Publications

Selected publications from Prof Jane Visvader

Nightingale R, Reehorst CM, Vukelic N, Papadopoulos N, Liao Y, Guleria S, Bell C, Vaillant F, Paul S, Luk IY, Dhillon AS, Jenkins LJ, Morrow RJ, Jackling FC, Chand AL, Chisanga D, Chen Y, Williams DS, Anderson RL, Ellis S, Meikle PJ, Shi W, Visvader JE, Pal B, Mariadason JM. Ehf controls mammary alveolar lineage differentiation and is a putative suppressor of breast tumorigenesis. Developmental Cell. 2024;59(15):10.1016/j.devcel.2024.04.022

Visvader JE, Rosen JM, Aparicio S. Breast Cancer. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine. 2024;14(8):10.1101/cshperspect.a041729

Altman JE, Walker CJ, Zboril EK, Hairr NS, Myrick RK, Boyd DC, Koblenski JE, Puchalapalli M, Hu B, Dozmorov MG, Chen X, Chen Y, Perou CM, Lehmann BD, Visvader JE, Olex AL, Harrell JC. Abstract 1750: Decoding breast cancer: Unraveling subtype and model differences through multi-model single-cell RNA sequencing data integration. Cancer Research. 2024;84(6_Supplement):10.1158/1538-7445.am2024-1750

Wang Z, Burigotto M, Ghetti S, Vaillant F, Tan T, Capaldo BD, Palmieri M, Hirokawa Y, Tai L, Simpson DS, Chang C, Huang AS, Lieschke E, Diepstraten ST, Kaloni D, Riffkin C, Huang DCS, Suen CSNLW, Garnham AL, Gibbs P, Visvader JE, Sieber OM, Herold MJ, Fava LL, Kelly GL, Strasser A. Loss-of-Function but Not Gain-of-Function Properties of Mutant TP53 Are Critical for the Proliferation, Survival, and Metastasis of a Broad Range of Cancer Cells. Cancer Discovery. 2024;14(2):10.1158/2159-8290.cd-23-0402

Whittle JR, Vaillant F, Surgenor E, Heitink L, Muttiah C, Visvader JE, Lindeman GJ. Abstract IA26: Exploring breast cancer vulnerabilities through apoptotic pathways. Cancer Research. 2024;84(3_Supplement_1):10.1158/1538-7445.advbc23-ia26

Joyce R, Pascual R, Heitink L, Capaldo BD, Vaillant F, Christie M, Tsai M, Surgenor E, Anttila CJA, Rajasekhar P, Jackling FC, Trussart M, Milevskiy MJG, Song X, Li M, Teh CE, Gray DHD, Smyth GK, Chen Y, Lindeman GJ, Visvader JE. Identification of aberrant luminal progenitors and mTORC1 as a potential breast cancer prevention target in BRCA2 mutation carriers. Nature Cell Biology. 2024;26(1):10.1038/s41556-023-01315-5

Milevskiy MJG, Coughlan HD, Kane SR, Johanson TM, Kordafshari S, Chan F, Tsai M, Surgenor E, Wilcox S, Allan RS, Chen Y, Lindeman GJ, Smyth GK, Visvader JE. Three-dimensional genome architecture coordinates key regulators of lineage specification in mammary epithelial cells. Cell Genomics. 2023;3(11):10.1016/j.xgen.2023.100424

Sharma S, Chung C-Y, Uryu S, Petrovic J, Cao J, Rickard A, Nady N, Greasley S, Johnson E, Brodsky O, Khan S, Wang H, Wang Z, Zhang Y, Tsaparikos K, Chen L, Mazurek A, Lapek J, Kung P-P, Sutton S, Richardson PF, Greenwald EC, Yamazaki S, Jones R, Maegley KA, Bingham P, Lam H, Stupple AE, Kamal A, Chueh A, Cuzzupe A, Morrow BJ, Ren B, Carrasco-Pozo C, Tan CW, Bhuva DD, Allan E, Surgenor E, Vaillant F, Pehlivanoglu H, Falk H, Whittle JR, Newman J, Cursons J, Doherty JP, White KL, MacPherson L, Devlin M, Dennis ML, Hattarki MK, De Silva M, Camerino MA, Butler MS, Dolezal O, Pilling P, Foitzik R, Stupple PA, Lagiakos HR, Walker SR, Hediyeh-Zadeh S, Nuttall S, Spall SK, Charman SA, Connor T, Peat TS, Avery VM, Bozikis YE, Yang Y, Zhang M, Monahan BJ, Voss AK, Thomas T, Street IP, Dawson S-J, Dawson MA, Lindeman GJ, Davis MJ, Visvader JE, Paul TA. Discovery of a highly potent, selective, orally bioavailable inhibitor of KAT6A/B histone acetyltransferases with efficacy against KAT6A-high ER+ breast cancer. Cell Chemical Biology. 2023;30(10):10.1016/j.chembiol.2023.07.005

Morra A, Schreurs MAC, Andrulis IL, Anton‐Culver H, Augustinsson A, Beckmann MW, Behrens S, Bojesen SE, Bolla MK, Brauch H, Broeks A, Buys SS, Camp NJ, Castelao JE, Cessna MH, Chang‐Claude J, Chung WK, Sahlberg KK, Børresen‐Dale A, Gram IT, Olsen KS, Engebråten O, Naume B, Geisler J, OSBREAC, Alnæs GIG, Colonna SV, Couch FJ, Cox A, Cross SS, Czene K, Daly MB, Dennis J, Devilee P, Dörk T, Dunning AM, Dwek M, Easton DF, Eccles DM, Eriksson M, Evans DG, Fasching PA, Fehm TN, Figueroa JD, Flyger H, Gabrielson M, Gago‐Dominguez M, García‐Closas M, García‐Sáenz JA, Genkinger J, Grassmann F, Gündert M, Hahnen E, Haiman CA, Hamann U, Harrington PA, Hartikainen JM, Hoppe R, Hopper JL, Houlston RS, Howell A, Clarke C, Marsh D, Scott R, Baxter R, Yip D, Carpenter J, Davis A, Pathmanathan N, Simpson P, Graham JD, Sachchithananthan M, Amor D, Andrews L, Antill Y, Balleine R, Beesley J, Bennett I, Bogwitz M, Botes L, Brennan M, Brown M, Buckley M, Burke J, Butow P, Caldon L, Campbell I, Cao M, Chakrabarti A, Chauhan D, Chauhan M, Chenevix‐Trench G, Christian A, Cohen P, Colley A, Crook A, Cui J, Courtney E, Cummings M, Dawson S, DeFazio A, Delatycki M, Dickson R, Dixon J, Edkins T, Edwards S, Farshid G, Fellows A, Fenton G, Field M, Flanagan J, Fong P, Forrest L, Fox S, French J, Friedlander M, Gaff C, Gattas M, George P, Greening S, Harris M, Hart S, Hayward N, Hopper J, Hoskins C, Hunt C, James P, Jenkins M, Kidd A, Kirk J, Koehler J, Kollias J, Lakhani S, Lawrence M, Lee J, Li S, Lindeman G, Lipton L, Lobb L, Loi S, Mann G, Marsh D, McLachlan SA, Meiser B, Milne R, Nightingale S, O’Connell S, O’Sullivan S, Ortega DG, Pachter N, Pang J, Pathak G, Patterson B, Pearn A, Phillips K, Pieper E, Ramus S, Rickard E, Robinson B, Saleh M, Skandarajah A, Salisbury E, Saunders C, Saunus J, Scott R, Scott C, Sexton A, Shelling A, Simpson P, Southey M, Spurdle A, Taylor J, Taylor R, Thorne H, Trainer A, Tucker K, Visvader J, Walker L, Williams R, Winship I, Young MA, Zaheed M, Jakubowska A, Janni W, Jernström H, John EM, Johnson N, Jones ME, Kristensen VN, Kurian AW, Lambrechts D, Le Marchand L, Lindblom A, Lubiński J, Lux MP, Mannermaa A, Mavroudis D, Mulligan AM, Muranen TA, Nevanlinna H, Nevelsteen I, Neven P, Newman WG, Obi N, Offit K, Olshan AF, Park‐Simon T, Patel AV, Peterlongo P, Phillips K, Plaseska‐Karanfilska D, Polley EC, Presneau N, Pylkäs K, Rack B, Radice P, Rashid MU, Rhenius V, Robson M, Romero A, Saloustros E, Sawyer EJ, Schmutzler RK, Schuetze S, Scott C, Shah M, Smichkoska S, Southey MC, Tapper WJ, Teras LR, Tollenaar RAEM, Tomczyk K, Tomlinson I, Troester MA, Vachon CM, van Veen EM, Wang Q, Wendt C, Wildiers H, Winqvist R, Ziogas A, Hall P, Pharoah PDP, Adank MA, Hollestelle A, Schmidt MK, Hooning MJ. Association of the CHEK2 c.1100delC variant, radiotherapy, and systemic treatment with contralateral breast cancer risk and breast cancer‐specific survival. Cancer Medicine. 2023;12(15):10.1002/cam4.6272

Nolan E, Lindeman GJ, Visvader JE. Deciphering breast cancer: from biology to the clinic. Cell. 2023;186(8):10.1016/j.cell.2023.01.040

Lab research projects

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