MSI PIs Paolo Provenzano (associate professor, Biomedical Engineering; Masonic Cancer Center) and Patrick Alford (associate professor, Biomedical Engineering) have published research that shows how they stopped cancer cells from moving and spreading. The paper, published in Nature Communications, demonstrated a method that stopped two kinds of movement that cancer cells use to spread, thus stopping them. Since cancer deaths usually are a result of the cancer moving through the body to other organs, being able to stop this movement could have dramatic effects on survival.
An article about this research appears on the University’s News site: Researchers Stop “Sneaky” Cancer Cells in Their Tracks.
The paper can be read on the journal website: Biomodel Sensing of Guidance Cues in Mechanically Distinct Microenvironments.
Professor Provenzano uses MSI resources for research into the microenvironment surrounding carcinoma cells and how it influences cell movement. Professor Alford is using software available at MSI to study the mechanical properties of tissues subjected to trauma.