RESEARCH
Cell migration is a complex behavior that emerges from the interactions of tens of thousands of molecular parts. Still, much of what is known is limited to the context of cell migration on artificial 2D environments. Through the development of quantitative microscopy techniques and molecular engineering, the Fraley Lab is advancing migration research in the 3rd dimension.
Cells in the body reside in a complex 3D microenvironment. Physical, chemical, and architectural features of the extracellular matrix (ECM) regulate important cellular functions like migration, differentiation, and morphogenesis. We are interested in understanding how cells sense these multiparametric cues and transduce these into stable phenotypes and functions. To this end, our lab develops approaches to engineer native and synthetic matrices to tune their properties as well as techniques to measure whether and how cells sense these properties.
Blood interfaces with every tissue in the body, and mounting evidence suggests that it can serve as a diagnostic window into the dynamics of disease processes via the profiling of nucleic acids it contains. Several technologies are developing around this idea. However, substantial challenges remain in making nucleic acid profiling technologies rapid, inexpensive, and portable while incorporating a wide breadth of detection and high sensitivity. Yet, these features are essential to enable broad access and timeliness of information to inform treatment. These features will enable frequent, repeated testing within the same individual for baseline health and disease dynamics monitoring, a core goal of personalized systems medicine. We are developing innovative technologies to overcome these challenges and enable this goal to be realized.Â
