CV Science

Romain Larive PhD Biological and Chemical Sciences in Health

Course and current status

Assistant Professor at University of Montpellier - Faculty of Pharmaceutical and Biological Sciences

Institut de Recherche en Cancérologie de Montpellier - Team Signaling of tumor invasion

Scientific summary

Prediction of the response of metastatic melanoma to cancer therapy using mathematical modeling

Cancer is a heterogeneous and evolutive pathology that upset biological determinism. Metastatic melanoma is resistant to classical chemotherapies, but highly sensitive to drugs targeting the proteins kinases of the canonical signaling pathway MAPK. Nevertheless, melanoma cells acquire resistance to these new treatments, by various cellular mechanisms and molecular plasticity of cell signaling. We believe that initial sensitivity and acquired resistance to protein kinase inhibitors could be determine by biomarkers linked to the initial state of intracellular molecular networks. We will measure quantitatively phosphoproteins before and after perturbation of melanoma cells (by combinations of stimuli and inhibitors) in order to link cell sensitivity to the inhibitors (cellular phenotype) to intracellular signaling dynamic. In association with systems biologists, we will evaluate the correlation between the initial state of signaling networks and cancer cell sensitivity to proteins kinases inhibitors. We will participate to the development of a predictive mathematical model. The prediction of therapeutic failures due to resistance of cancer cells to treatments is a key element to move forward personalized medicine.