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.
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.
Microenvironmental Regulation of Mitochondria and Metastasis
We are developing micropatterned cancer-stromal coculture models to recapitulate the tissue interface and study the impact of tumor microenvironments on the mitochondrial phenotypes of cancer cells 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)) Immunotherapy in Hypoxic Tumors
Using micro-technologies, we are creating tumor-on-a-chip devices to understand how chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells infiltrate and attack cancer cells in a hypoxic tumor microenvironment, and how to augment the therapeutic efficacy. (Image: illustration of hypoxic tumor model (top) and CAR-T cell induced cancer cell deaths in a normoxic (left) or hypoxic tumor microenvironment (right)) (Ando et al, Adv Healthc Mater, 2019) |
Hematopoietic Stem Cell Metabolism
We are using fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) to distinguish hematopoietic stem cells from their progeny and evaluate their stemness in vitro by their metabolic features, in a non-invasive, real-time manner at the single-cell level. (Image: Cell metabolism is reflected by the redox states of FAD and NADH, which are auto-fluorescent and can be captured by FLIM (left); hematopoietic stem cells are imaged for NADH intensity (right, top) and enzyme-binding status (right, bottom) with FLIM technology Hematopoietic Stem Cell-Niche Interactions
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)) |
Sponsors
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