Mechanical Properties of Cancer Cells and Their Micro-Environment

in
Date: 
February 10th - 12th, 2010

No area of research better illustrates the constructive engagement of physics and cancer biology than the burgeoning field of cell mechanics. This workshop focused on the mechanical properties of healthy and cancer cells and the surrounding tissues. It covered topics such as changes in the elastic properties of cancer cells, the internal chemical and genetic changes triggered by the physical properties of the micro-environment (such as its hardness or surface adhesion) and the motility of cells, with special emphasis on metastasis. It brought together physicists, oncologists, cancer biologists, engineers and computer scientists, with the goal of determining whether cancer could be better understood and even controlled by manipulating the physical properties of the cancer cells’ environment.

In February 2010, a diverse group of scientists from physicists to astrobiologists and cancer specialists got together at Arizona State University for 3 days of thrashing out their latest thinking about the mechanical properties of cells.  The workshop was organized by the Center for the Convergence of Physical Science and Cancer Biology.  Some of the participants spoke to Pauline Davies as the workshop ended.

Read more at Cancer Insights

Participants

John Baross
University of Washington

Bob Bishop
Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne

Donald Coffey
Johns Hopkins

Paul Davies
Arizona State University

Sanjay Kumar
University of California, Berkeley

Jerry S.H. Lee
National Cancer Institute

Stuart Lindsa
Arizona State University

Dirk Schulze-Makuch
Washington State University

Jay Nadeau
McGill University

Larry Nagahara
National Cancer Institute

Timothy Newman
Arizona State University

Cheryl Nickerson
Arizona State University

George Poste
Arizona State University

Robert Ros
Arizona State University

Pepper Schedin
University of Colorado Denver

Shivani Sharma
University California, LA

Melody Swartz
Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne

Kandice Tanner
University of California, Berkeley

Thea Tlsty
University of California, San Fran

Jack Tuszynski
University of Alberta

Denis Wirtz
Johns Hopkins