Rui Tang, PhD

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is one of the deadliest lung cancers because it spreads rapidly through the body. Our research focuses on a master gene called CREBBP, which helps control many other genes. About 10% of SCLC patients have defects in this gene and these defects are linked to worse patient outcomes. We believe that losing CREBBP makes cancer cells more capable of spreading. To test this, we created a new “barcoding” technology that labels millions of cancer cells so we can track where each cell travels and how it forms tumors in distant organs. Using this system, we found that cells lacking CREBBP spread more efficiently, especially to the liver and brain. Our project asks two key questions: how do CREBBP-deficient cells establish new tumors, and how does losing CREBBP help them evade the immune system? By combining cell-tracking tools with detailed biological studies, we aim to reveal how CREBBP loss fuels the deadly spread of SCLC and identify new strategies to treat it.