CAREER: Integration Research and Education in Engineering Multi-scale Cell-Cell Interactions

Suny At Albany, Albany NY

Investigators

Abstract

0846270 Xie Intellectual Merit: The interaction between cancer cells and neighboring cells plays a crucial role in breast cancer metastasis and anticancer drug resistance. However, current cultivation systems fail to recapitulate heterotypic cell-cell interactions in a breast cancer microenvironment. The ability to incorporate and control cell-cell interactions in an engineered breast cancer metastasis model is crucial for the understanding of breast tumor progression and anticancer drug development, leading to a cure for breast cancer. This in vitro study of breast cancer cell-stem cell interactions has the potential to revolutionize traditional cancer research which targets bulk tumors and uses expensive animal models. Broader Impact: The proposed effort will have a broad impact on research, education and outreach efforts in the region through the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering's (CNSE's) established infrastructure. This effort will advance the understanding of the role of cell-cell interactions in engineering human disease which will result in the development of novel human disease models for the biopharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. At the same time it will deliver new discoveries and enhance the infrastructure of CNSE. Accompanied by research activities, the proposed "top-down" modular approach will serve as a unique training system for graduate, undergraduate and high school students from the City School District of Albany (CSDA) who will participate in the year-long "Engineering Exploration Program" and "Nano High". It will not only provide students hands-on nanobiotechnology skills but also "21st century skills". Results generated during this proposed effort will be disseminated into the design of the Nanobiotechnology Workbook for K-16 students and broadcast to the general public community through "NanoNow" television show presented by CNSE. It will also broadly benefit K-12 through CNSE's ongoing partnerships with the CSDA, whose majority student population is composed of a traditionally underrepresented group in science and engineering, as well as extensive outreach programs at CNSE targeting students from throughout New York's Tech Valley region. By exposing students to the exciting hands-on activity of nanobiotechnology at a young age, science and engineering seeds will be implanted in their mind. Eventually, one will have a sustained supply of students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM ) fields.