Welcome to Roshini's blog
Overview of My Research
Bio
I am a junior at Holton Arms High School in Bethesda, Maryland.
I invite you to watch this video to understand my journey through this research.
My Research
Harnessing the Signaling Power of Cancer Cells for Tissue Engineering
Abstract
Regenerative medicine is a growing field of medical research with the goal of generating or repairing human tissues. Currently, a major challenge in regenerative medicine is in the engineering of vascular tissues such as liver, lungs and heart. This research explores whether the signaling characteristics of an active cancer cell whose reproductive capacity is deactivated can still be effective in stimulating endothelial cell migration and vascularization. This signaling characteristic is made possible by tumor angiogenesis factors, chemical signals that prompt the growth of new blood vessels to feed the cancer cells.
A novel experimental setup was developed that made direct microscopic analysis of cell migration feasible. The results show that endothelial cell migration was greatly enhanced in the presence of deactivated cancer cells, through the paracrine signaling capacity of these deactivated tumor cells. This migration is a key precondition for vascularization. A microchip device was then used to study vascularization. Imaging results clearly show the formation of tube-like structures that could support blood flow. The results pave the way for designing future systems for tissue regeneration and organ growth.
A little more on the research from me...
Thanks for your interest in my research. I invite you to watch the short video where I describe the rationale and the process of the research.
A Presentation of the Research
I invite you to watch the slide presentation version of the poster presented above which describes the background, process and the main results of the research.
I would like to acknowledge and thank Professor Harihara Baskaran at Case Western Reserve University.
