Joel Brown

Joel Brown brings foundational expertise in evolutionary ecology and game theory to cancer biology, developing the conceptual framework that treats tumors as evolving ecosystems where cancer cell phenotypes represent strategies in evolutionary games shaped by resource competition, predation by immune cells, and environmental pressures from therapy. His collaboration with Robert Gatenby at Moffitt Cancer Center has produced the theoretical underpinnings of adaptive therapy, applying ecological concepts such as competitive exclusion, apparent competition, and optimal foraging to understand and exploit tumor evolutionary dynamics. His work bridges ecology and oncology to create novel treatment strategies.