Engineering and Physical Approaches to Cancer (Current Cancer Research)

Engineering and Physical Approaches to Cancer addresses the newest research at this interface between cancer biology and the physical sciences. Several chapters address the mechanobiology of collective and individual cell migration, including experimental, theoretical, and computational perspectives. Other chapters consider the crosstalk of biological, chemical, and physical cues in the tumor microenvironment, including the role of senescence, polyploid giant cells, TGF-beta, metabolism, and immune cells. Further, chapters focus on circulating tumor cells and metastatic colonization, highlighting both bioengineered models as well as diagnostic technologies. Further, this book features the work of emerging and diverse investigators in this field, who have already made impressive cross-disciplinary scientific contributions.

This book is designed for a general audience, particularly researchers conversant in cancer biology but less familiar with engineering (and vice-versa). Thus, we envision that this book will be suitable for faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and advanced graduate students across medicine, biological sciences, and engineering. We also anticipate this book will be of interest to medical professionals and trainees, as well as researchers in the pharmaceutical and biomedical device industry.

Describes physical aspects of cancer, including collective cell migration, the aberrant tumor microenvironment, circulating tumor cells, and metastatic colonization.

First volume available on the topic of physical aspects of cancer

Michelle R. Dawson is an Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry at
Brown University. She received her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Louisiana Tech
University and Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from Johns Hopkins University. She also completed postdoctoral training in the Edwin L. Steele Lab at Massachusetts General Hospital before beginning her independent research program. The Dawson Cell Biophysics Lab
uses quantitative cell biophysical analysis to understand cancer biology, and her current research
provides detailed biophysical insight on cancer cell signaling pathways, tumor cell heterogeneity, cell-cell and
cell-matrix interactions in the tumor, and mechanisms contributing to therapy induced resistance.

Ian Y. Wong is an Associate Professor of Engineering and of Pathology / Laboratory Medicine at Brown University. He received his A.B. magna cum laude in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University and then received a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Stanford University. He completed postdoctoral training in the Center for Engineering in Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, then started his independent faculty position at Brown University. His lab uses biomaterials, mechanobiology, and microfluidics to reverse-engineer tumor invasion and metastasis.