Gligorijevic lab
Cancer Microscopy& Mechanobiology
Gligorijevic lab investigates mechanisms of tumor cell metastasis by implementing established and developing new microscopy technologies at multiple scales, combined with approaches from cell biology, tissue engineering and systems biology into a systems microscopy.
The focus of the lab is on analysis of tumor microenvironment complexity and emergent tumor cell behaviors as they relate to tumor microenvironment and its spatial and temporal changes, including extracellular matrix remodeling by tumor cells themselves. We strive towards predicting tumor cell decisions, which are a dynamical, ever-changing outcome of multiple mechanical and chemical signals from different cell-based and extracellular sources. While we are excited about engineering new technologies and highly curious about mechanistic understanding of metastasis, our overarching goal is to translate our findings into improved diagnostics for early metastasis and point to novel therapeutic targets.