Tobiloba Oni

Our lab studies how cells interact in the context of pancreatic cancer. Tumors aren’t just cancer cells — they’re complex communities that also include immune cells and a supportive scaffold called the extracellular matrix. Together, these cells and structures make up the tumor microenvironment, which can either support or block the immune system’s ability to attack cancer cells.

In our recent work, we’ve found that tumor cells can actively disrupt the organization of the extracellular matrix. This creates a protective barrier that helps cancer cells grow and spread while preventing immune cells from reaching and killing them. Tumor cells do this using glycans, sugar molecules attached to proteins or lipids on the surface of cells. 

Importantly, this process is reversible. By blocking certain tumor-associated glycans, we can restore matrix organization, guide immune cells back into the tumor, and restore their ability to attack cancer cells.

This represents a new way of thinking about immunotherapy: treatments that harness the body’s own immune system to fight cancer. Instead of targeting cancer cells directly, we can reshape the tumor microenvironment to make immunotherapies more effective, even against treatment-resistant cancers like pancreatic cancer.