My Lab has focused on identifying the role of crosstalk between receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK) and tumor microenvironment in liver cancer progression and therapy resistance. We have primarily concentrated on how c-Met RTK crosstalk with other signaling molecules and how the tumor microenvironment coordinates these interactions during cancer metastasis. Over the past two decades, our studies have contributed to understanding the importance of ligand-independent activation of RTKs on regulating aggressive phenotype, drug resistance, and stem cell maintenance in HCC and the novel regulatory roles of long non-coding RNAs and micro RNAs. Our ongoing projects concentrate on (i) exploring the roles of interactions between tumor cells and stromal cells/immune cells in the tumor microenvironment in the development of organ-specific metastases using omics technologies and (ii) understanding the role of metabolic changes, including hypoglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, and fatty acids on the aggressiveness and organ-specific metastasis ability of tumor cells. Meanwhile, we have been developing in vitro 3D co-culture models and 3D Lab-on-chip (LOC) systems to explore the roles of interactions between tumor cells and stromal cells/immune cells to determine related molecular and metabolic mechanisms, discovering druggable candidates and testing the efficiency of potential therapies (https://www.ibg.edu.tr/research-programs/groups/atabey-lab/).