Our Mission

The mission of our laboratory is to create biologically inspired in vitro platforms, to capture the scale of cell signaling in tissue microenvironments from subcellular to tissue levels, and discover novel therapeutics for human diseases.

​We are particularly interested in creating microfabricated models of cancer and stem cell microenvironments, and developing integrated techniques for biosensing of microenvironmental cues. Our goal is to identify new targets and critical pathways in driving disease and intervention, and translate our discoveries into applications for immune and cancer therapeutics, cancer biomarker/drug development, and regenerative medicine.

Cancer-Stroma Crosstalk

We are developing micropatterned cancer-stromal coculture models to recapitulate the tissue interface and study the molecular and cellular interactions in tumor microenvironment and the implication in cancer metastasis.

(Image: illustration of cancer-stromal interactions (top) and a micropatterned coculture of epithelial cancer cells and fibroblastic stromal cells forming a tissue interface (bottom))

Tumor Hypoxia

Using micromilling technology, we have created tumor-on-a-chip devices to understand hypoxic phenotypes and their response to other tumor microenvironmental cues and therapeutics.

(Image: hypoxic marker staining in cancer cells under a radial oxygen gradient (left) or normoxia (right))

Hematopoietic Stem Cell Niche

We are developing artificial bone marrow niches for hematopoietic stem cells for their in vitro expansion and application in clinical transplantation.

(Image: illustration of bone marrow niches for hematopoietic stem cells (top, adapted from Ehninger & Trumpp, JEM, 2011) and the goal of the project (bottom))

Opportunities

We are seeking highly motivated and talented undergraduate and graduate students. Please contact Prof. Shen if you are interested in joining the lab.