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Research groups
Vicky Tan
Post-doctoral Fellow
Research interests
I am interested in the relationship between tissue regeneration and cancer development. While there are parallels between these processes, we do not understand how this can lead to normal regeneration in some cases but cancer in other cases. The White lab has a unique model tissue to study this problem, as it can undergo normal regeneration but is also prone to melanomas. My project is focused on the regenerative microenvironment, and how it may act to regulate these processes. Identification of factors in this microenvironment may allow us to identify new therapeutic vulnerabilities in melanoma.
Background
I have recently completed my PhD at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and University of Melbourne in Melbourne, Australia. My background is in liver regeneration, and in my PhD, I developed a zebrafish model that allowed us to investigate cell-specific immediate transcriptional responses in hepatocytes (the major regenerating cell in the liver). Using this, we identified that the Nrf2 pathway, traditionally known to be important for antioxidant responses, was critical in stimulating the Pentose Phosphate Pathway to stimulate liver regeneration following acetaminophen/paracetamol-induced liver injury (Tan et al, Dev Cell, 2024, in Press).