Developing Functional Life-On-Chip Microsystems for Understanding Cancer Biology

开发功能性片上生命微系统以了解癌症生物学

• 批准号: 436117-2013
• 负责人: Young, EdmondWaiKeung
• 金额: $ 2.04万
• 依托单位: University of Toronto
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2017-01-01 至 2018-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=638452
• 关键词: Developing; Functional; Life; Chip; Microsystems

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the developed world, costing billions of dollars in health care costs in Canada alone. Major barriers to progress in cancer research include the lack of useful and informative experimental methods for studying cancer biology in the lab, and lack of tools for choosing the right therapy for the patient in the clinic. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop new, innovative tools and methods that can change our approach to cancer research and clinical therapy. The primary goal of my research program is to create a new class of experimental tools for biologists and clinicians called "life-on-chip" (LOC) microsystems, which can mimic cell, tissue, and organ behavior and function in miniaturized chips that can fit on the palm of your hand. This new class of tools will significantly add to our experimental toolkit by providing improved resemblance to actual living tissues and organs while eliminating the need for animal testing. To develop and advance these LOC microsystems, my research program will combine expertise in both engineering and biology fields, employing the principles of fluid dynamics, mechanical engineering design, microfabrication, computational methods, cell biology, and advanced microscopy. My proposed research plan focuses on the development and characterization of three new LOC microsystems that will offer new ways to study how cancer cells communicate with neighboring cell types, how blood vessels develop in tumors, and how cancer cells adhere to different tissues during metastatic spread. The research will lead to novel engineering design concepts and principles, and create new knowledge on how to engineer optimal LOC microsystems for studying cancer biology.

癌症是发达国家的第二大死因，仅在加拿大就造成了数十亿美元的医疗费用。癌症研究取得进展的主要障碍包括缺乏在实验室研究癌症生物学的有用和信息丰富的实验方法，以及缺乏在临床上为患者选择正确治疗方法的工具。因此，迫切需要开发新的、创新的工具和方法来改变我们对癌症研究和临床治疗的方式。我的研究计划的主要目标是为生物学家和临床医生创造一种新的实验工具，称为“芯片生命”(LOC)微系统，它可以在可以放在你手掌上的微型芯片中模拟细胞、组织和器官的行为和功能。这类新的工具将显著增加我们的实验工具包，提供与实际生活组织和器官的相似性，同时消除对动物测试的需要。为了开发和推进这些LOC微系统，我的研究计划将结合工程学和生物学领域的专业知识，运用流体动力学、机械工程设计、微制造、计算方法、细胞生物学和先进显微镜的原理。我提出的研究计划集中在三个新的LOC微系统的开发和表征上，这三个微系统将提供新的方法来研究癌细胞如何与邻近细胞类型沟通，肿瘤中血管如何发育，以及癌细胞在转移扩散过程中如何附着于不同的组织。这项研究将带来新的工程设计概念和原则，并在如何设计用于研究癌症生物学的最佳LOC微系统方面创造新的知识。