Guillaume Lambert (left), a physics graduate student at Princeton, and Robert Austin, principal investigator of the new Princeton Physical Sciences-Oncology Center and physics professor, observe prostate cancer cells growing on a microhabitat in Jadwin Hall. With their collaborators, the scientists are developing devices and technologies that will allow them to control a wide range of variables in an effort to understand how cancer evolves. The entire experimental setup will be controllable via the Web, enabling their colleagues at peer institutions to conduct experiments remotely.

photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications, Denise Applewhite (2009)

From left, electrical engineering graduate student Kevin Loutherback, postdoctoral research associate Liyu Liu, physics graduate students David Liao and Guillaume Lambert, and postdoctoral research fellow Andre Estevez-Torres discuss their research in Web-based meetings with scientists at partner institutions in the Princeton Physical Sciences-Oncology Center.

photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications, Denise Applewhite (2009)

This microhabitat, dubbed the "Death Galaxy" by the research team, is one possible device that will be used to study the evolution of cancer. Roughly 2 centimeters across, the structure contains an interconnected array of wells where cells will grow. Nutrients and oxygen will be provided to wells on the periphery of the device, but not to those in the middle. As resources in the center are depleted and a high-stress environment develops, the researchers will observe how bacterial and cancer cells evolve in response to stress gradients.

image: Courtesy of Austin Lab

This silicon chip features cell growth regions separated by funnel-like structures. Cells must crawl between the funnels to migrate from one region to another, allowing researchers to sort the cells according to their motility. In future experiments, similar microstructures will be used to screen for cells that have acquired through genetic changes an increased ability to invade surrounding tissue.

image: Courtesy of Austin Lab