​Metastasis, the dissemination of cells from the primary tumor to other sites within the body, is responsible for 90% of deaths linked to cancer. Chemotherapy is the standard of care for metastatic breast cancer, although many patients do not respond well or develop resistance to these drugs. The goal of our research is to understand the contribution of the components that surround and support tumors in these processes, in particular the extracellular matrix, to better predict which tumors will metastasize and become drug-resistant, as well as find new ways to treat them.
Madeleine Oudin, PI
Photo by Samara Vise

Lab FUNDING

NEWS

July 2019:
​2nd Annual Burge-Oudin lab BBQ and cornhole tournament was a huge success! Congrats to the Burge lab, and team Maria and Kayla, for winning the trophy this year! 

​The entire Oudin lab participated in the Sackler relays for the CMDB team - some members ran, played volleyball, participated in the obstacle course and others! Special shout out to Jackson who won the 100m dash!
The Oudin lab hosted the 2019 TUBERS class of local high schoolers spending 6 weeks in the BME department at Tufts. We taught them about cancer biology, how to do cell culture, adhesion assays and immunostaining. We also discussed how engineering is helping to improve our current diagnostic strategies. ​
June 2019:
​Congratulations to Jackson for being awarded a Sackler Family Cancer Fellowship, which will fund him for the next year! Cake to celebrate!
The Oudin lab hosted a symposium for cancer researchers at Tufts, where labs from Medford presented their research. Thanks to all those who came and presented their work!
​Madeleine went to MIT to celebrate the scientific legacy of her post-doc advisor Frank Gertler along with all the Gertler lab alumni! 
Congratulations to first year BME PhD student Justinne for passing her quals!! The lab went out for frozen hoagies to celebrate!
The Oudin Lab welcomes several summer undergraduate students: Rachel McGinn, Sarah Mackin, Rebecca Tang, Nina Pittas and Claire Dunn, both Laidlaw Scholars, Joanna Peng, Tufts Summer Scholar, and Anna Weldy, NSF REU student. We are excited to have you with us this summer!

Samantha helps organize the Boston Post-Doctoral Association, chairing a session on demystifying chalk talks during the academic job search. Madeleine was also a panelist!


May 2019:

Madeleine contributes to a review authored by the Board of the Metastasis Research Society on the importance of developing therapies targeting the biological spectrum of metastatic disease.  

Happy graduation Day 2019! Madeleine attends graduation and the Oudin Lab celebrates Lily Hayes and Gabrielle Munoz, graduating with a Bachelors in Biology, Sakshi Wadwha and Janani Baskaran with a Bachelors in Biomedical Engineering and Brendon Clover with a Masters in Biomedical Engineering. Congratulations to all!
Sakshi and Janani receive the prize of best senior capstone project in BME. Congratulations to both of you for all your hard work!
Jackson attends the 2019 Proteases Gordon Conference Gordon Conference in Barga Italy and is selected for a flash talk!

Madeleine attends the 2019 Fibronectin, Integrin and Related Molecules Gordon Conference Gordon Conference in Barga Italy and shared some of the lab's new research on ECM-driven mechanisms of metastasis in breast cancer.

April 2019:
BME 7/8 students Sakshi and Janani present their poster showcasing all the great work they have done for their senior design project in the lab. Great work!

Madeleine presents at the BioMEMS Center seminar at MGH.

Justinne receives an award from the Graduate Student Research Competition! Congratulations Justinne!

The Oudin Lab participated in the Cambridge Science Festival this weekend! With other members of the BME department from the Black and Kaplan labs, we developed an activity for kids to build organs out of different materials, including cells, silk scaffolds and extracellular matrix! It was a busy day with lots of visitors!

Nina, sophomore in the BME department, has been named a 2019 Laidlaw Scholar! This program will support her summer research for 2 summers and provide with leadership training. 

Grant awarded! The lab receives funding from the Tufts Collaborates program on a joint project with Professor Mike Levin in the Dept of Biology. Post-doc Sam wrote the proposal on this new project investigating the role of the bioelectricity in cancer metastasis. 

The lab goes downtown to see Jackson present in the CDMB seminar program. We then went for dim sum in Chinatown!

​Madeleine and Jackson attend the Cell, Molecular and Developmental Biology Retreat in Portland, Maine, along with member from Jackson Labs and the MMCRI. Jackson presented his first poster of the Oudin Lab and Madeleine was on a panel highlighting open questions in cancer research, specifically relating to metastasis. 


Madeleine is interviewed for the spring issue of JUMBO magazine. 
March 2019:

Congratulations to undergraduate researcher Joanna Peng for being selected as a 2019 Tufts Summer Scholar. She will be working in the lab throughout the summer on mechanisms of ECM-driven cancer cell migration.  

Madeleine and Sam participated in the Region IV Massachusetts Science Fair judging and learned about the exciting research being performed by local high schoolers. Congratulations to all the winners!

Congratulations to CMDB graduate student Jackson for passing his quals!! We celebrated by going bowling in Davis!
February 2019:
Madeleine was voted an exemplary engineer by the graduate students of the BME department for commitment to community, supportive mentorship and advocacy for women in STEM. Thank you to the students!
January 2019:
Grant awarded! We are very excited to receive a Young Investigator Grant from the Breast Cancer Alliance, which will fund us for 2 years. We are very grateful for the support. 

Happy 1st birthday lab for the Oudin Lab! What an exciting year it has been, getting started at Tufts, growing in numbers, obtaining preliminary data and starting new collaborations. 

December 2018:
Ugly Sweater Holiday Party and Potluck Dinner was a success! Kaplan, Georgakoudi and Oudin lab members participated in a corn hole tournament and ate delicious food!