Small but mighty: Micropysiological models for simulating complex clinical oncology workflows
Abstract
Microphysiological tumor models (μPTMs) are tissue-engineered 3D tumors that are grown in the lab and retain the biological and functional characteristics of the tissue of origin. These μPTMs provide a powerful model of individual patients’ tumor and are used for drug discovery, cancer research, and personalized medicine. This talk will discuss various projects related to these models. First, we will show how radioluminescence microscopy (RLM) can image clinical radionuclides in μPTMs, providing the equivalent of PET/CT but with higher spatial resolution. By imaging patient-derived organoids, RLM provides a quantitative endpoint that can be linked to in vivo PET data from the same patient. We will then discuss how RLM can also be applied to “on-chip” tumors, which are engineered using microfluidics technology to create environmental gradients of oxygen and nutrients, resulting in heterogeneous physiology. Finally, we will explore how μPTMs can help decipher the complex biology behind so-called FLASH radiotherapy, which involves treating tumors with high doses of ionizing radiation in a fraction of a second. By reducing the complexity of animal models while enabling use of patient-derived cells, μPTMs can reveal crucial biological mechanisms, yielding biological knowledge that can then be applied to translating these novel treatments.
Biography
Guillem Pratx, PhD is associate professor of Radiation Oncology and Medical Physics at Stanford University. The physical Oncology Lab, which he leads, employs physics and math to advance cancer research and patient care. Research projects blend traditional medical physics concepts with recent advances in biomedical engineering to incorporate novel capabilities into current medical imaging and enhance radiation therapy processes. Prof. Pratx is a Damon Runyon Innovator, an SNMMI Young Investigator, an NIH investigator, and the author of over 100 publications.
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