Cancer is a complicated disease. To address this worldwide problem, researchers study the disease from an assortment of angles to understand its structure and mechanisms in explicit detail. While most cancer research is viewed from a clinical perspective, INBT researchers use an engineering approach. An engineering approach can help discover new knowledge and develop new technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
INBT brings engineers together with clinicians to unravel the mysteries of how cancer cells move, grow, divide, and interact with their surroundings in a 3-dimensional environment. Specifically, they are looking at the role of physical cues in collective cells invasion, forces involved in collective cell migration, and the impact of low oxygen on the migration of sarcoma.
Mechanical, chemical, materials, biomedical, and computer engineers are unraveling the life of both normal and cancerous cells in detail. INBT is investing in innovative ways to use the body’s own immune response to fight cancer. For example, engineered nanoparticles can trigger an immune reaction to kills cancer cells and engineered technologies can deliver drug therapies into places where regular drugs cannot reach, such as the brain or deep within tumors. Also, computer engineers can design, test, and screen potential drug candidates entirely on computers.
