Abstract

Increasing evidence suggests that the tumor heterogeneity is rooted in the existence of a very small sub-population of stem-like cells (CSCs) within the population of tumor cells. Since cancer takes many years to grow, it is important to develop in vitro models to study tumor initiation and progression. In an effort to regulate the cancer cell microenvironment, my laboratory has merged material synthesis, microscale technologies, and cancer biology to develop an engineered 3D matrix to delineate the role of individual factors in the tumor microenvironment on CSC maintenance, self-renewal, and differentiation. I will demonstrate in my talk that engineered matrices can enrich the CSC subpopulation of cancer cells which is potentially useful in cancer drug screening and personalized cancer treatment.