The Roarty Lab investigates how the breast develops under normal conditions—and how this finely tuned process goes awry in cancer. We are particularly focused on metastasis, the leading cause of death in breast cancer, where tumor cells spread from the primary site to distant organs like the lungs. Understanding how this happens is a central goal of our research.
Breast development is orchestrated by a complex network of hormonal signals, genetic programs, and environmental cues. These same pathways—so essential for building healthy tissue—are often hijacked or repurposed in cancer. We aim to uncover how this rewiring occurs at the molecular level and what makes certain cancer cells more likely to spread.
One of the key themes driving our work is the idea that cancer is not merely chaotic—it is highly organized, even purposeful. We study how tumor cells coordinate with one another and their surrounding environment to gain the traits needed to invade, survive in circulation, and colonize new tissues. We are particularly interested in how the architecture and identity of tumor cells contribute to their ability to adapt to new environments during metastasis.
To investigate these questions, we combine state-of-the-art tools from developmental biology and cancer research. In the lab, we use 3D organoid cultures to mimic the organization of breast tissue and observe how cells behave in real time. In parallel, we use both syngeneic and patient-derived xenograft mouse models to study how tumors evolve in living systems. We also analyze patient tumor samples to connect our findings to human disease.
Our toolkit includes advanced microscopy methods such as confocal and second harmonic generation imaging, allowing us to visualize cell interactions and tissue structure with remarkable clarity. We apply single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, flow cytometry, and other multi-omics technologies to profile gene expression, signaling pathways, and cell states at high resolution.
By integrating these approaches, we aim to uncover fundamental insights into how breast cancer progresses, and more importantly, how we can stop it. Our long-term vision is to identify novel therapeutic strategies that target the specific vulnerabilities of metastatic cells—bringing us closer to preventing cancer from spreading and improving outcomes for patients.
