Dr. Nicolette Fonseca
Assistant Professor
Molecular Life Sciences
- ORCID:
- 0000-0001-8529-4703
- Credentials:
- BSc, MSc, PhD (UBC)
- Area(s) of expertise:
- Prostate cancer genomics, circulating tumour DNA, tumour immunology, T-cell biology, and cytokine signalling.
Dr. Nicolette Fonseca is an Assistant Professor in the School of Molecular Life Sciences and a scientist at BC Cancer. Academic credentials include a BSc and MSc from Goa University and a PhD from the University of British Columbia.
Understanding why prostrate cancer resists immunotherapy
Research Interests
Dr. Fonseca studies why many prostate cancers do not respond well to treatments that activate the immune system. Her laboratory examines the tumour microenvironment, which includes cancer cells, immune cells, surrounding tissues, and the signals they exchange. The group is particularly interested in how genetically distinct prostate tumours prevent immune cells from recognizing or attacking them. Her team combines genomic analysis with advanced spatial imaging to determine which cells and molecules are present in different regions of a tumour. This work uses carefully characterized patient samples available through provincial cancer biobanks. The goal is to identify genetic and immune biomarkers that predict disease progression and help determine which patients are most likely to benefit from immunotherapy.