Research Projects

Cancer cell invasion is a crucial step in metastasis, and it involves cancer cells migrating through 3D channel-like tracks in the interstitial extracellular matrix (ECM) of tissues. This leads to confinement-induced cell deformation, which changes several biomechanical properties of the cancer cell, including cell contractility, focal adhesion size, and expression level of mechanosensitive channels, Piezo1. Recent research has shown that cancer cells are mechanosensitive and undergo apoptosis when subjected to mechanical stretch/ultrasound mediated-mechanical forces. This project aims to investigate whether confinement-induced cell deformation promotes mechanical forces-induced apoptosis and which deformation-mediated-biomechanical properties are playing a key role in promoting this process. The project will focus on breast and oral cancer, the top two prevalent cancer types in the Indian population. An elastomer-based microchannel platform will be developed to mimic 3D channel-like tracks within tissue, and an ultrasound device will be fabricated to apply ultrasound-mediated mechanical forces on the cells. The RhoA/ROCK pathway, which regulates myosin IIA contractility, will be investigated in confined cell apoptosis upon ultrasound treatment. The project findings will help optimize ultrasound parameters to maximize in vivo killing of invasive and metastatic breast and oral cancer cells.