Cancer represents one of the biggest problems for modern societies. In 2010, there were 1.53 million new cancer cases and 570,000 cancer-related deaths in the US, leading to an overall cost of $264 billion. By 2020, cancer deaths worldwide could reach 10 million. Therefore, an important goal of life science research is to improve tumor diagnostics and anti-cancer treatment options to alleviate cancer-related morbidity and mortality. We are interested in using the tools of theoretical evolutionary biology, applied mathematics, statistics, and computational biology to address important questions in cancer research. Current projects include the following:

(1) Which genetic and epigenetic alterations cause cancer?

(2) In which order do oncogenic alterations arise?

(3) Where do oncogenic alterations arise?

(4) How do oncogenic alterations arise?

(5) What do we do about it?