Post-Doctoral Researcher on cancer mechanobiology

Metastasis, the spread and invasion of tumor cells into the body’s healthy tissues is responsible for over 90% of cancer-related deaths. The metastatic process requires the coordinated migration of invasive tumor cells into the surrounding complex tumor microenvironment. Unfortunately, the underlying mechanisms behind cancer invasion within the tumor microenvironment remain elusive. Both biophysical and chemical cues play crucial roles in steering cancer cell migration (via adjusting the direction, speed and migration modes of cancer cells under different physical conditions). Recently, 3D microfluidics models have been developed to recapitulate the complexity of the tumor microenvironment under physiological conditions (close to in vivo conditions).

In this project, you will develop a novel tumor-on-a-chip model to unravel the underlying migration mechanisms adopted by cancer cells in a physiologically relevant microenvironment. You will answer fundamental questions regarding the 1) impact of biophysical and cellular cues on dynamic cancer cell migration, 2) the interaction between tumor cells and tumor microenvironment, including the interplay with cancer-associated fibroblast, and 3) the design of a new generation of 3D microfluidics for cell invasion studies. You will use a range of advanced biophysical tools (e.g. optical tweezers, AFM, confocal microscopy), and microfluidics manufacturing tools to characterize the cancer cell migration under different physiological conditions. The scope of the project will be within the framework of our ERC-COG research project, aiming to understand how different physical and chemical factors regulate cell invasion within a complex tumor microenvironment, with a focus on cancer metastasis. You will have the opportunity to work in a cutting-edge, fast-paced research environment, interact with researchers from many different disciplines, learn about fundamental biophysical and biological processes in solid tumors, and interact with world-class collaborators. This highly interdisciplinary project is a collaboration between the Boukany Lab at the Chemical Engineering Department at TU Delft and Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and Erasmus University Medical Center (Erasmus MC).