Engineered ECM Platforms to Analyze Progression in High Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer

While standard biological methods such as two-dimensional, in vitro cell culture and in vivo animal models are useful to examine certain biological questions, the complexity of cancer requires a continuum of model systems. This collaborative study will create a foundation for tumor tissue engineering by employing multiple innovative methodologies to first characterize and then build biomimetic models of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in the tumor microenvironment. The ECM is a key element in biomimicry, and particularly important to consider in the context of cancer, where the composition and architecture of the ECM change drastically with disease progression.