The Oudin Lab is interested in dissecting the mechanisms of cancer metastasis and drug metastasis. We focus on the role of the tumor microenvironment, specifically on the role of the extracellular matrix, in driving invasion and contributing to resistance to chemotherapy. We are also interested in dissecting the neuronal properties of tumors: both the nerves that innervate the the tumors and the neuronal properties that tumor cells take on as they grow.
The diagnosis of Dr. Oudin’s daughter with SCN8A encephalopathy has led to to a new research area in the lab, investigating how alternative splicing of sodium channels impacts neuronal function and the development of epilepsy. We aim to develop novel therapies for the treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as those caused by mutations in SCN8A.
Click here to donate and support SCN8A epilepsy research in the lab.
At first, it may seem like cancer and the developing brain have nothing to do with each other. However, when you dig a little deeper, it’s easy to see that these two biological processes have a lot in common.
Genes that regulate axon guidance in the developing brain have been found to regulate tumor cell migration and metastasis.
Alternatively spliced isoforms present in the brain are also found in tumors.
The bioelectrical properties of tumor cells can regulate their metastatic potential via ion channels that are known to regulate neuronal activity. The same ion channels are mutated in cancer and in epilepsy.
Tumors are associated with an increase in nerve density and nerves are present within breast tumors and contribute to invasion and metastasis.
We leverage our expertise in cancer and neuroscience to identify novel treatments for cancer metastasis and epilepsy.
The diagnosis of Dr. Oudin’s daughter with SCN8A encephalopathy has led to to a new research area in the lab, investigating how alternative splicing of sodium channels impacts neuronal function and the development of epilepsy. We aim to develop novel therapies for the treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as those caused by mutations in SCN8A.
Click here to donate and support SCN8A epilepsy research in the lab.
At first, it may seem like cancer and the developing brain have nothing to do with each other. However, when you dig a little deeper, it’s easy to see that these two biological processes have a lot in common.
Genes that regulate axon guidance in the developing brain have been found to regulate tumor cell migration and metastasis.
Alternatively spliced isoforms present in the brain are also found in tumors.
The bioelectrical properties of tumor cells can regulate their metastatic potential via ion channels that are known to regulate neuronal activity. The same ion channels are mutated in cancer and in epilepsy.
Tumors are associated with an increase in nerve density and nerves are present within breast tumors and contribute to invasion and metastasis.
We leverage our expertise in cancer and neuroscience to identify novel treatments for cancer metastasis and epilepsy.
Prof. Madeleine Oudin
Image by Sammy Kata.
LAB FUNDING
Click here to donate and support SCN8A epilepsy research in the Oudin lab.
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NEWSNovember 2023
New publication dissecting the role of exon 5 alternative splicing in Nav1.6. First epilepsy publication! October 2023 Madeleine chairs a session and presents at the Tissue, Matrix and Pathobiology Meeting hosted by ASMB and ASIP in Utah. 
Haley attends the Park City Epilepsy Meeting and presents her work on SCN8A.
We welcome a new senior design team: Harrison, Isabel, Hannah and Cassidy. 
September 2023
The lab goes apple picking at Honey Pot Hill Orchards. 
Haley represents the Oudin lab at the BME Department annual retreat.
Anna, Savannah, Hannah and Hanan attend the Cold Spring Harbor meeting on tumor microenvironment and metastasis.
Madeleine visits the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University.
August 2023 New pre-print describing age and obesity-driven changes in the ECM in the mammary gland and liver that may contribute to cancer progression. Congratulations to Dr. Sydney Conner, PhD #4 from the Oudin Lab for her fantastic thesis defense! She is now off to the NY Genome Institute to do a post-doc with Prof. Gamze Gürsoy. 
Lab outing: Oudin Lab goes kayaking on the Charles River.
July 2023
Madeleine speaks on the Epilepsy Sparks podcast with Torie Robinson about similarities between cancer and epilepsy. Listen here. 
Haley, Crystal and Hanan compete in the annual GSBS relays.
Congrats to Hanan, who received a prize for Best Poster at the annual MD-PhD retreat.
Grant awarded! The Oudin Lab, in collaboration with Prof. Chris Dulla at Tufts Neuroscience receives a seed grant from the American Epilepsy Society to characterize a new SCN8A epilepsy mouse model. 
June 2023
The Oudin Lab attends the BME Summer BBQ at Cochituate State Park. 
Congratulations to Hannah who passed her BME quals and was awarded and NCI Diversity Supplement to fund her for 3 years!
New pre-print! We are excited to share this new work characterizing the metastatic potential of human TNBC cell lines and showing that cell morphology is most predictive of metastatic potential in vivo.
May 2023 We welcome two new undergraduates to the lab, both BME rising juniors: Christian Merino and Katie Lew, a SEPA STEM fellow. Crystal Zhang, CMDB student, joins the Oudin lab for her PhD. Welcome Crystal!! Madeleine is promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure. We have a big celebration with many lab alumni to celebrate the lab's accomplishments. 
Kevin, Ariana and Maia win Best Senior Capstone project! Congratulations!!
Madeleine attends the Keystone Metastasis and Tumor microenvironment meeting and presents the lab's work on innervation and cancer. Senior design teams present their work from an entire year of work in the lab. 
April 2023
Congratulations to Justinne, who received a School of Engineering Outstanding Research Scholarship Award for all her research accomplishments throughout her PhD. 
We welcome new undergrad researcher Tolulepe Adewumi, who was named at 2023 Laidlaw Scholar, who will be working with PhD student Hanan on dissecting the role of nerves in cancer.
Senior Deepti presents her research at the AACR Annual Meeting. 
TERMIS-AM 2023 meeting in Boston: Madeleine co-chairs the meeting with Pam Yelick, Anna and Sydney participate in the SYIS events, and present their work.
March 2023
Lab dinner! 
Madeleine gives a seminar at UMass Amherst.
February 2023 The lab goes downtown to support Haley give her annual seminar and enjoyed some delicious hotpot! 
Madeleine visits UCLA BME department and shares the labs recent work on Engineering tumor-ECM interactions.
February 9th is SCN8A Awareness Day - the lab works together to create a video to explain SCN8A epilepsy to the public. Madeleine is a guest on the Once Upon a Gene Podcast to share her experience as a scientist and rare parent, and starting SCN8A research in the lab. 
January 2023
Madeleine presents the ASMB E-Symposium Make it or Break it: How ECM production and degradation fuels disease. Laidlaw Scholar and Tufts BME senior Deepti Srinivasan and Madeleine are interviewed for Tufts Now. 
Congratulations to Dr. Justinne Guarin, who defended her thesis! She will be staying with us a for a few more months as a post-doc. 
Happy New Year!
New review out on the role of nerves in cancer, led by former PhD student Will Le. December 2022 The Oudin lab celebrates the holidays with some ice skating, a white elephant gift exchange and homemade potluck dinner. 
Madeleine presents at the SCN8A Clinician, Researcher and Family gathering at the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting in Nashville, along with collaborators Prof. Chris Burge (MIT) and Dr. Chris Yuskaitis (Boston Children's).
November 2022
The Oudin lab attends the BME Department retreat. PhD student Justinne presents her work and obtains 1st prize for best talk! Congrats! Anna and Haley also presented posters. 
We welcome CMDB PhD student Crystal Zhang for her 2nd rotation.
Will's first author paper dissecting the role of sensory nerves in TNBC is officially out at NPJ Breast Cancer! Madeleine presents our work on the neuronal identity of tumors at Loma Linda University. Madeleine presents our work on obesity-induced changes in the ECM of the mammary gland promote tumor cell invasion and metastasis at the Obesity Week meeting. Madeleine presents the lab's work on engineering tumor-ECM interaction in the BME department at UCSD. October 2022 Congratulations to Hanan Bloomer for being awarded the 1st prize at the Charlton Poster Competition in his category! Diamond, Sydney and Emily present their research at the 2022 BMES Annual Meeting in San Antonio. 
September 2022
Madeleine attends the Mechanobiology Summer School in Spain to present the labs work. Madeleine presents in the Cancer Innovator Seminar Series at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. Madeleine is awarded a Sunrise Award from the School of Engineering for outstanding accomplishments in research. The Oudin Lab welcomes 3 teams for their senior design capstone projects:
Top: Jeanne Duong, Deepti Srinivasan, Jasmine Kwan working with the Mallidi lab on photodynamic therapy for TNBC Middle: Ariana Barreiro, Maia Buckwald and Kevin Lyons, working on engineering tools to study the role of neuronal genes in breast cancer metastasis Bottom:Chiara Romano, Michelle Shub, Malia Brooks and Emily Henrich working on 3d models of tumor cell nerve interactions 
Congratulations to post-doc Anna You for her second prize at the Tufts Post-doc Association Poster Session.
August 2022
Congratulations to Haley for passing her quals!!! Paper accepted! Justinne's paper dissecting the effects of chemotherapy on the liver ECM is out in Matrix Biology. We celebrated with cake and champagne! 
Madeleine and Haley attend the Epilepsy GRC in Barcelona. July 2022 The lab says goodbye to Ken and Sofia. We wish you the best! Madeleine, Sofia, Sydney and Savannah participate in the BEST summer workshops to talk to new freshman BESTies about Biomedical Engineering and understand how BME can be used to diagnose, study and treat cancer. We welcome new BME PhD student Hannah Borges to the lab! Sydney presents her research at the Signal Transduction by Engineered Matrices GRS. Madeleine and Anna attend the Signaling by Adhesion Receptors GRC where Madeleine gives a talk on work in the lab looking at the effect of chemotherapy on the ECM of tumor and metastatic sites. Lab divided for the annual GSBSB relays: Nikki and Hanan in the MD-PhD team and Haley and Madeleine in the CMDB team!! 
We get out of the lab to attend the Tufts BME BBQ!
Congratulations to Dr. Will Le who successfully defended his thesis!
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