Dr Igor Vivanco leads our Molecular Addictions team, which is working on a variety of projects that could be developed in collaboration with commercial partners.

Cancer cells can become dependent on certain signalling pathways, leaving them unable to survive without some specific oncogenic gene products. They can also become addicted to nutrients, such as glucose and glutamine.

Dr Vivanco’s team is studying these addictions in order to better understand them – and ultimately with the aim of discovering new therapeutic strategies that exploit these vulnerabilities.

In particular, Dr Vivanco’s team has been investigating the molecular basis of addiction to the PI3K signalling pathway, which is altered in the majority of human cancers.

Dr Vivanco has had significant experience in working with industry, and is open to new partnerships, particularly in discovering novel therapeutics, such as antibodies, for targeting these molecular addictions.