Pushing, Pulling, Moving: The Mechanics of Cancer

Cells in our body are constantly on the move. During normal processes such as development, wound healing, and immune responses, cells migrate through tissues in highly coordinated ways. But movement can also become dangerous: in cancer, migrating cells leave the original tumor and spread to distant organs, a process known as metastasis.
In this talk, we will explore the clever tricks that cells use to get around... and how cancer cells hijack them. Some cells leave behind molecular “breadcrumbs” that others can follow, while in other cases cells slide across microscopic railways, like miniature trains on rails. Cancer cells are masters at exploiting these paths, moving farther than we might expect.
By studying these different modes of cellular navigation, we hope to better understand how metastases form, and ultimately, how this deadly journey might be stopped.

Our cells accomplish amazing tasks every day. In my talk I will focus on two examples.
First, cells produce tens of thousands of proteins every minute, which need to be transported to the right place in and outside the cell—for example antibodies produced by immune cells. I will show how our research on this process led to the development of drugs now being tested in clinical studies.
Secondly, I will discuss how muscle cells respond to mechanical stress to adapt the protein production rate. I will describe how we identified a sensor that allows muscle cells to feel mechanical stress and adapt their growth.