RESEARCH
Active Research Areas
Overview
The overarching focus of the lab is tissue engineering 3D microphysiological ("organ-on-a-chip") model systems to mimic biological tissues. We are currently focused on the following tissues: 1) the tumor microenvironment (breast and prostate cancer) and 2) soft musculoskeletal tissue (intervertebral disc). Our goal in designing organ-on-a-chip systems is so that we can ask hypothesis-driven questions to broaden our understanding of normal development and disease progression. Furthermore, we hope to use our microphysiological systems to solve unmet biomedical problems, such as personalized medicine or drug screening during the drug development pipeline.
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Collective Cell Migration
Intervertebral disc degeneration
According to the Global Burden of Disease Study, low back pain is one of the leading causes of disability in the US. One of the highly studied causes of low back pain is intervertebral disc degeneration. The intervertebral disc is divided into 2 main regions: the outer annulus fibrosus (AF) and the inner nucleus pulposus (NP). Much work has been done that demonstrates damage to the nucleus pulposus is a key initial event that alters disc homeostasis, causes inflammation, and results in disc degeneration. However, one understudied aspect of discogenic pain is angiogenesis from neighboring tissue or vertebral bodies into the normally avascular disc, which can lead to nerve ingrowth, and is believed to be a major contributor to the pain sensation experienced by patients. It is not well-understood where it is in the pathway of disc degeneration that angiogenesis occurs, nor is it well understood what factors trigger angiogenesis. This project seeks to design an intervertebral disc-on-a-chip in order to understand angiogenesis driven disc degeneration.
Over 40,000 patients die from breast cancer, the most common form of cancer, each year. The leading cause of death from breast cancer is not from the tumor itself, but the cancer spreading to other parts of the body (metastasis). It was originally believed that cancer spread when an individual cell left the primary tumor. Thus, most of the current therapies are specific for treating individual tumor cells. Recent evidence shows that breast cancer actually spreads when groups of cells travel together. When groups of cells move together, they talk and provide a support network to each other. This collective movement of cells can protect them against conventional therapies. However, little is known about the collective movement of tumor cells and as such, we cannot develop effective therapies. In prior studies, we developed a 3D microphysiological system of the breast tumor microenvironment. In our ongoing work, we are seeking to improve our understanding of how tumor cells interact with its microenvironment as well as the signaling mechanisms regulating collective migration.