Awarded in 2023
Home Department: Bioengineering
Faculty Advisors: Fan Yang (Bioengineering, Orthopaedic Surgery), Christina Curtis (Medicine - Oncology, Genetics, Biomedical Data Science), and Joy Wu (Medicine - Endocrinology)

Research Title: Engineering a 3D Model for Mimicking Breast Cancer Metastasis at the Bone Tissue Interface

Research Description: Cancer metastasis is the leading cause of mortality in cancer patients. Bone is the most common site of metastasis for breast cancer patients, and the underlying mechanisms driving preferential invasion and disruption of bone remodeling remain poorly understood. Michelle’s proposed work bridges critical gaps of existing cancer metastasis models by incorporating critical bone-mimicking cues in a 3D spatially patterned in vitro model of breast cancer invasion at the bone interface. Such a model can reveal how tissue crosstalk drives cancer metastasis at the bone tissue interface and enable drug screening with reduced time and cost.