Abstract

Tracking Tumor Heterogeneity and Plasticity using Microfluidics and Biomaterials

Ian Wong, Associate Professor of Engineering and of Pathology, Brown University, Brown University

Phenotypic heterogeneity and plasticity are hallmarks of cancer, which are particularly evident in cancer cell invasion. I will elucidate the dynamic reciprocity between cancer cells and their mechanical microenvironment via three case studies. First, we investigate collective and individual migration after the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in arrays of elastomeric micropillars (Nature Materials 2014). Second, visualize how multicellular clusters can collectively deform and invade a fibrillar 3D matrix (PNAS 2020). Finally, we demonstrate monolithic 3D printing for multiplexed devices to trap spheroids or tissue fragments to profile drug response. These biomaterial and microfluidic approaches enable new fundamental insights into mechanobiology, as well as advancing human disease models for drug development.