Investigating the role of fibroblast-like cells in shaping the glioblastoma tumour microenvironment

Glioblastoma tumours actively remodel their own surroundings, creating physical and chemical niches that protect them from the immune system and resist treatment. This matters because glioblastoma is one of the deadliest brain cancers, and its ability to evade therapy stems largely from this hostile, heterogeneous microenvironment. While other solid tumours rely on fibroblast-like cells to drive such remodelling and immune suppression, the role of these cells in glioblastoma has been largely overlooked. This project will identify which cell types are responsible for reshaping the tumour’s extracellular matrix and how that process silences immune cells. If successful, the research could reveal new targets for therapy—for instance, drugs that block the matrix-remodelling machinery or re-awaken immune cells trapped in the tumour. This is fundamental science: it will not produce a treatment tomorrow. But understanding how glioblastoma builds its protective environment is a necessary first step toward dismantling it, much as mapping the immune-suppressive tactics of other cancers eventually led to checkpoint inhibitors.