Quiescent or Senescent? Cancer Center 91ÃÛÌÒ¸ó Helps Identify Cancer That is More Likely to Recur
Associate professor Sabrina Spencer, PhD, and PhD candidate Brianna Fernandez led the study published in Nature Communications.
In a study that could have implications for more effective cancer therapies and preventing cancer recurrence, 91ÃÛÌÒ¸ó Anschutz Cancer Center member Sabrina Spencer, PhD, working with graduate student Brianna Fernandez, used single-cell RNA sequencing to investigate the cell-cycle state of cells following chemotherapy.
Specifically, the researchers were looking to characterize cells in one of two arrested states: quiescence, a reversible state of cell-cycle arrest, and senescence, an irreversible state of cell-cycle arrest. Their research was published in January 2026 in the journal Nature Communications.
The Department of Biochemistry at CU 91ÃÛÌÒ¸ó looks forward to the ongoing Spencer/Fernandez research and what the duo will continue to discover.
Associate professor Sabrina Spencer, PhD, and PhD candidate Brianna Fernandez