Dr. Tuomas Tammela Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY

Regenerative tissue programs driving cancer plasticity

Dr. Tammela is an Associate Member in the Cancer Biology & Genetics Program at the Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. The Tammela Lab studies phenotypic heterogeneity and plasticity of cancer cells within tumors using genetically engineered mouse models, single cell approaches, tracing and ablation of distinct tumor cell lineages, CRISPR-mediated gene regulation, and advanced imaging techniques. In addition, emerging efforts in the Tammela laboratory focus on how aging and other changes in organismal physiology impact cancer evolution and tissue regenerative capacity

Hosted by: Pauliina Kallio

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Recent publications:

Singhal A, Ryan K, Rose S, Styers HC, Kim JY, Pasnuri N, Moore A, Meza-Llamosas J, Chen E, Adams J, Nandula A, Sharma R, Li Z, Yan Y, Tarcan N, Basturk O, Sherman M, Pe’er D., and Tammela T. The basal cell state maintains pancreatic cancers by controlling an immunosuppressive cell circuit. bioRxiv

Chan JE*, Pan CH*, Rub J, Guzman G, Krause K, Brown E, Zhang Z, Styers H, Hartmann G, Li Z, Zhuang X, Lowe SW, Betel D, Yan Y, and Tammela T. Critical role for a high-plasticity cell state in lung adenocarcinoma. Nature, 651: 231-241 (2026).PMID: 41565826; PMCID: PMC12960256. 

Torborg S, Kim J, Singhal A, Grbovic-Huezo O, Holm M, Wu K, Han X, Ho YJ, Haglund C, Mitchell MJ, Lowe SW, Dow LE, Pitter K, Sanchez-Rivera F, Levchenko A, and Tammela T. Disruption of WNT/Notch signaling in pancreatic cancer reveals tumors depend on the intricate equilibrium of malignant cell states.  Developmental Cell, (2026). PMID: 41875882.

Rub J, Chan JE, Sussman C, Tap WD, Singer S, Tammela T, and Betel D. A deep-learning tool for species-agnostic integration of cancer cell states. Cancer Research, 86: 858–872 (2026). PMID: 41223329; PMCID: PMC13053053.