Core 1: Cellular Microenvironment Engineering

Abstract Core 1 The Cell Microenvironment core will provide enabling technologies and develop new methods for controlling the cellular microenvironment and measuring its effect on cancer cell migration. The primary goals of the core will be to probe microenvironmental regulators of cell migration to inform mathematical models, probe cell migration within a physiologically relevant context, and develop highly parallelized platforms for high throughput studies. Technologies will include, but not be limited to, tools for controlling the mechanical environment, controlling cell and environment architecture, controlling cell organization within the microenvironment, controlling chemical gradients, controlling extracellular chemistry, measuring cell migration, and measuring cell force generation. In addition, tools will be developed for high-throughput cell migration measurement and high-throughput tissue isolation. The Cell Microenvironment core will support both Project 1 and Project 2 within this center as well as any applicable pilot projects.