BME PhD Preliminary Exam Announcement for Madison Howard (Luis Solorio, advisor) Everyone is invited to attend the public presentation beginning at 10 am. Title: Stretching the Limits: Unveiling Key Matrix Factors and Survival Mechanisms in the Metastatic Tumor Microenvironment Date: 9/24/24 Time: 10 am Location: MJIS 2001 or Zoom: https://purdue-edu.zoom.us/j/94733656803<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpurdue-edu.zoom.us%2Fj%2F94733656803&data=05%7C02%7Cbmeroundtable-list%40ecn.purdue.edu%7Ccf68332990ce4cbf73af08dcd4170948%7C4130bd397c53419cb1e58758d6d63f21%7C0%7C0%7C638618442605588566%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=TgBrbUTvKrn5KZHx%2F7FOkIxtvavY2i9jjI0IEXI65Pw%3D&reserved=0> Committee Members: Luis Solorio (chair), Adrian Buganza Tepole, Brittany Allen-Peterson, Loran Solorio Abstract: Breast cancer (BC) often metastasizes to organs experiencing high mechanical stress, including the lungs. Despite this knowledge, the effect that dynamic forces native to the lungs have on early disseminated tumor cells is a currently under explored area of the metastatic cascade. Recent in vitro findings suggest BC cells enter a dormant state in response to tensile stress, yet the mechanisms by which these cells adapt to the dynamic conditions at metastatic sites remain unclear. In vitro cell stretching experiments and ex vivo tissue characterization could help uncover the mechanisms behind this mechanical adaptation, but the capabilities of existing testing platforms are limited. In vitro systems often do not recapitulate the tensile forces encountered at the metastatic site, and it is difficult to test tissue samples on existing tensile testing machines. Here, we developed a simple and cost-effective in-plane actuation platform with high-resolution force sensing and simultaneous imaging capabilities. This system is capable of: 1) characterizing the mechanical properties of biological substrates, including tissues and 2) performing live cell mechanotransduction experiments. We will demonstrate the device utility for ex vivo tissue characterization by analyzing transient mechanical changes in rat metastatic lung tissue. Given that the extracellular matrix (ECM) is a main driver of tissue stiffness, this study will be paired with a proteomic analysis to identify transient changes in ECM composition throughout disease progression. To further investigate BC dormancy at the cellular level, the in-plane actuation system will also be used to investigate how tensile stress affects DNA damage accumulation in BC cells, revealing a potential mechanism behind their dormancy. Together, these aims will address gaps in current testing systems and provide insight into the mechanical adaptation mechanisms driving metastatic BC at both the tissue and cellular levels. -- Bmeroundtable-list mailing list Bmeroundtable-list@ecn.purdue.edu https://engineering.purdue.edu/ECN/mailman/listinfo/bmeroundtable-list