Previous Research

Nanoscale Mechano-mediated Drug Resistance in Cancer

This project was my senior design project at Boston University. My group and I were working on developing a drug testing platform for cancer research that would help in our understanding of drug resistance often seen in cancer treatments. Our system used UV crosslinked PEG polymers to form a hydrogel system. The variation in weight percent of polymer provided a tunable hydrogel where the stiffness can be varied similar to the extracellular matrix seen in vivo. The cancerous cells were incorporated into the hydrogel and dosed with various concentrations of Paclitaxel an anti-cancer drug to observe the response.

My major focus on the project was the mechanical testing of the formed network. I was able to utilize a modified rheometry technique that compresses the gel. The rheometer used a porous plug to indent the sample. A schematic of which is shown below. The water in the gel could go through the pores and the measured response can be attributed directly to the stiffness of the underlying matrix. This measure was then used as the basis for the rest of our analysis.

This research was mainly based in concepts related to mechanobiology and biomaterials. We focused primarily on the cellular level monitoring the interactions between the matrix, cells and the introduced drug.

Future Research

Currently most of my research is done through the company I work for, Vascular Simulations. Doing my work there I am able to use my knowledge of mechanobiology and biomaterials on a larger scale. I hope to be able to develop physical models related to cardiovascular diseases specifically abdominal aortic aneurysms.