Investigator, Assoc Prof (W) Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Mass General Research Institute

Associate Professor of Radiology, Part-time Harvard Medical School

brain neoplasms; models, biological; neoplasm invasiveness; neoplasms; spheroids, cellular; systems biology Work in our laboratory is focused on the development of novel experimental and computational modeling and simulation platforms studying highly malignant tumors as complex dynamic self-organizing and adaptive biosystems. We argue that macroscopic tumor growth patterns are determined by microscopic cell-cell interaction rules which in turn are governed by molecular dynamics on the gene and protein level. We use methods from various disciplines such as cancer research, bioengineering, materials science and statistical mechanics, mathematical biology, nonlinear physics as well as computational and complex systems science. This interdisciplinary work relies on multiple national and international collaborations. The aim of this effort is to develop a set of interactive experimental tumor models and computational algorithms, which allow us to simulate and, eventually, to predict tumor growth behaviour over several orders of magnitude. Through this research we hope to improve both, our understanding of tumorigenesis in particular and complex biosystems modeling in general. The ultimate goal is to develop innovative anti-cancer treatment strategies.