E. Aubrey Thompson, Ph.D.

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SUMMARY

E. Aubrey Thompson, Ph.D., is a cancer biology researcher who studies the development and implementation of new spatial biology technology. His work focuses on understanding the relationship between the clinical phenotype and basic immunobiology of solid tumors. Dr. Thompson studies single-cell spatial RNA and protein abundance, with a goal of identifying, quantifying and assessing the activity of every cell within a tumor.

Focus areas

• High-risk breast cancer. Dr. Thompson works mainly with clinical samples from patients with HER2-positive and triple-negative breast cancer. Such samples are derived from Mayo Clinic patients with breast cancer or from therapeutic trials. Single-cell spatial RNA and protein analysis is carried out to define the transcriptomic or proteomic profile of every cell within a tumor sample.

  From such data, it is possible to identify every cell and determine the number, activity and location of all such cells within a tumor. Dr. Thompson's overall objective is to use the data to provide fundamental insight into the immunobiology of breast cancer. These data also are used to build models that predict therapeutic response and identify potential new therapeutic targets.

• Benign breast disease. Collaborative studies are ongoing to use spatial biology technology to identify features that predict the risk of progression from benign breast conditions to breast cancer.
• Spatial biology. Dr. Thompson has a long-standing interest in developing and using new spatial technologies. These new spatial technologies permit interrogation, in detail, of features that are associated with tumor cell and immune cell interactions.

Significance to patient care

Research shows that the immune system plays a big role in the development of harmful conditions and in how well treatment works. Dr. Thompson's research focuses on understanding the basic immunobiology of high-risk breast cancer. Dr. Thompson strives to understand how tumors hide from the immune system. He also studies why treatment to strengthen the immune system, known as immunotherapy, works in some people but not in others, and how to identify who may benefit from immunotherapy.

Professional highlights

• Mayo Clinic:
  • Director, Spatial Biology Core, 2024-present.
  • Co-leader, Genome Analysis Shared Resource, Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, 2023-present.
  • Co-director, Breast Cancer Translational Genomics Program, 2008-present.