Sam Bakhoum

Sam Bakhoum discovered that chromosomal instability drives metastasis through the generation of micronuclei that rupture and activate the cGAS-STING innate immune pathway, paradoxically promoting chronic inflammatory signaling that enhances cancer cell invasion and immune evasion rather than anti-tumor immunity. His research at Memorial Sloan Kettering has revealed that ongoing karyotype evolution through chromosomal instability enables rapid adaptation to therapeutic pressures and generates the phenotypic diversity that fuels treatment resistance. His work has established chromosomal instability as a central mechanism linking tumor evolution to metastasis and therapy failure.