Dr. Le Magnen completed her PhD studies at the University of Basel in December 2012, in the laboratory of Prof. Giulio Spagnoli (Department of Biomedicine) where she studied tumor-initiating cell populations in human prostate cancer. She then pursued a postdoctoral training (2013-2018) in the renowned laboratory of Prof. Cory Abate-Shen at Columbia University Medical Center in NYC, which mainly focused on the role of the homeobox factor NKX3.1 in prostate differentiation and prostate cancer initiation (Dutta and Le Magnen et al., Science 2016; Le Magnen et al., Dis Model Mech 2018). Since March 2018, Dr. Le Magnen is leading the Laboratory for Translational Genitourinary Cancer Research (TGCR), at the University Hospital Basel; in May 2022, the groups also got affiliated to the Department of Biomedicine (University of Basel). Relying on a strong connection with the clinic, the TGCR group combines both basic and translational research, with the long-term goal of impacting the management and treatment of prostate cancer and bladder cancer. Using molecular and phenotypic assays, single-cell technologies, and drug screens, Dr. Le Magnen and her team aim to establish and exploit patient-derived organoid models to elucidate mechanisms driving cellular plasticity, tumor progression and treatment resistance. 

Seminar topic:  Patient-derived organoids to investigate drug response and treatment resistance in genitourinary cancers