We have an opening for a postdoctoral researcher (funded by a multi-PI NIH R01 grant), available immediately in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. The objective of this team science project is to elucidate the role of the metastatic niche in regulating tumor cell fate decisions towards dormancy and colonization. This project will explore the interplay between extracellular matrix and stroma in metastatic sites in concert with tumor-specific genetic programming that regulates dormancy. This work will leverage a novel tissue engineering platform that allow for culture of metastatic tumor cells within 3D micro-engineered metastatic environments (MEMEs) and sorting of MEMEs based on cell dormancy state using multiphoton flow cytometry (MPFC). This multiplexed high throughput 3D platform permits screening of microenvironmental factors, including ECM and stroma, and tumor cell genetics via RNAseq and CRISPR screens. The postdoctoral researcher will use these novel new tools to perform Transcriptome analysis, Forward-genetics screens, and CRISPR screens in order to define the mechanistic
drivers of disseminated tumor cell dormancy and proliferation in distinct environments. This information will then be used with in vitro and in vivo experiments to elucidate molecular mechanism and identify therapeutic targets to prevent dormant tumor cells from evading therapy and/or inhibit their escape from dormancy, thus preventing recurrence.
These studies sit at the intersection of cancer biology, genomic engineering, tissue engineering, and advanced quantitative imaging. Thus, the successful applicant will be a part of an integrated multidisciplinary team. The fellow will be co-mentored by Paolo Provenzano, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and director of the Laboratory for Engineering Oncology, and Dave Wood, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and director of the Living Devices Laboratory, along with Dr. David Largaespada, Professor and Director of the Center for Genome Engineering. The Laboratory for Engineering Oncology studies the physical and molecular mechanisms driving cancer progression to metastasis and and develops therapeutic strategies to overcome therapeutic resistance. The Living Devices Laboratory combines expertise in microfluidics, microfabrication, and tissue engineering to create advanced in vitro model systems to study disease mechanisms and to develop new therapies. The Largaspada lab identifies genetic drivers of cancer and develops genetics assays and novel genome engineering approaches to understand and treat cancer. The successful candidate will work with personnel in multiple laboratories, which are housed in adjacent space in the Nils Hasselmo Hall, as well as with personnel in the laboratories of David Largaespada and Kaylee Schwertfeger in the Masonic Cancer Center.