Our main focus: metastasis, drug resistance and the tumor microenvironment 

The main goal of our lab is to investigate the role of the tumor microenvironment in driving metastasis and drug resistance using an interdisciplinary approach involving basic biology, bioengineering and translational research.

The role of ECM in driving local invasion in breast cancer 

We recently showed that gradients of the extracellular matrix protein fibronectin, present around blood vessels and the periphery of tumors, can attract certain tumor cells, leading to increased local invasion and ultimately metastasis. We are interested in understanding what other extracellular matrix cues drive directional migration. Cancer cells must integrate multiple cues present within their tumor microenvironment to locally invade and ultimately metastasize. A goal of our research is to understand how multiple cues, soluble, substrate-bound or physical, cooperate to drive local invasion, using microfluidic devices in vitro, implantable devices in vivo and computational modeling.

DRUG rESISTANCE

For metastatic breast cancer, chemotherapy remains the standard of care. While the benefits of chemotherapy for the treatment of metastatic disease have been well documented, over 50% of triple-negative breast cancer patients become resistant to chemotherapy. Increasing our understanding of the mechanisms driving metastasis and drug resistance will help identify biomarkers that can be used to predict them, and characterize targetable signaling pathways to that can be used to prevent them. 

DISSECTING the neural identity of tumors
We seek to define and exploit the neuronal identity of solid tumors to prevent cancer metastasis, the leading cause of death in cancer patients. Recently, the presence of peripheral nerves in solid tumors and the upregulation of neuronal genes within tumor cells themselves were both reported be associated with poor outcome in cancer. We will use cell biology, engineering and clinically translatable approaches to understand how neoneurogenesis occurs in tumors, how the neural identity of tumors impacts the systemic regulation of metastasis and how we can leverage this information for non-invasive monitoring and treatment of metastatic disease. 
 

Collaborators

At Tufts:
David Kaplan, BME 
Brian Timko, BME 
Michael Levin, Biology 
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