Start Date: | 1/25/2013 | Start Time: | 4:00 PM |
End Date: | 1/25/2013 | End Time: | 5:30 PM |
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Event Description Dr. Adrian Shieh, assistant professor in the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science & Health Systems, will discuss how there remains a startling lack of knowledge regarding the mechanisms underlying the invasion and metastasis of cancer. Increasingly, we are realizing that the interactions of cancer cells with their local environment play a significant role in cancer progression. The biomechanics of the tumor microenvironment also participate in disease progression. Our laboratory and others are now devoted to unlocking the contribution of biomechanical forces to the etiology and progression of human cancer. We have been focusing our efforts in understanding how interstitial fluid flow, which is elevated in tumors, can initiate and potentiate invasion through a variety of mechanisms. To answer the many outstanding questions surrounding the role of interstitial flow in cancer, we employ 3-D in vitro culture systems to elucidate mechanisms of interstitial flow-induced tumor cell invasion, focusing on breast and liver cancers. Using these model systems, we have shown that interstitial flow can modulate the behavior of tumor and host cells in a variety of ways, and these significant cellular changes can drive cancer invasion. These studies, and others like them, are part of a growing body of evidence that demonstrates biomechanical forces may play important roles in cancer progression, and may even offer novel targets for future therapies. |
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Location: The Papadakis Integrated Sciences Building, located on the northeast corner of 33rd and Chestnut Streets. |
Audience: AlumniCurrent StudentsFacultyProspective StudentsPublicStaff |
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