Causes and Consequences of Cellular Plasticity in Cancer

In this episode, we preview the upcoming Forbeck Forum on Cellular Plasticity, chaired by Dr. Ben Stanger (University of Pennsylvania) and Dr. Cory Abate-Shen (Columbia University). The conversation explores a rapidly emerging area of cancer research: how cancer cells don't just accumulate mutations, but can actually change what type of cell they are — a process called cellular plasticity — allowing them to spread, survive, and resist treatment in ways scientists are only beginning to understand.Ben and Cory explain why this field has taken off in just the last few years, how plasticity connects across many different cancer types, and why understanding it could open the door to an entirely new class of cancer treatments. They also discuss how a Cancer Grand Challenges competition helped galvanize a global research community — and why bringing together scientists from different disciplines and career stages is exactly the kind of environment where breakthroughs happen.