Single Cell Analysis of Tumor Heterogeneity During Cancer Metastasis

Event Date: 18 Feb 2022

Time: 1500 to 1630, HKT

Venue: Online via Zoom

Registration here

Abstract

Tumor metastasis is the main cause of cancer death. Metastasis is a dynamic and complex process which involves cancer cells leaving the primary tumor, entering blood circulation, invading a distant organ, and forming a new tumor. Cancer cells from the same tumor are heterogeneous in their metastatic potential, which is related to their migration ability and influenced by specific physicochemical factors and the tumor microenvironment. Microfluidic technique can be used to study tumor cell heterogeneity and their migratory behaviors in different microenvironments. Single cell analysis enables the classification and differentiation of cellular subtypes based on their distinctive molecular signatures and physiological patterns. By designing microfluidic structures and channels to modulate the physical, chemical, and mechanical environments surrounding tumor cells, in combination with single cell analytical techniques including next-generation sequencing (NGS) and atomic force microscope (AFM), we are investigating how biochemical gradients and mechanical constraints regulate cancer cell migration and alter their phenotypes, and how heterogeneity affects tumor cell transition and metastasis. 

Biography

Prof. Michael Yang is the Vice President (Research & Technology) and Yeung Kin-Man Chair Professor of Biomedical Sciences in City University of Hong Kong. He received his BSc from Xiamen University and PhD from University of Toronto, and postdoctoral training at the Scripps Research Institute, California. His research interests focus on studying cancer biology and developing novel technologies for diagnostics and therapeutic applications. Since joining CityU in 1994, he has trained more than 40 PhD students and 30 postdocs in his laboratory, published over 280 peer-reviewed papers, and obtained 33 patents. He has been awarded the K. C. Wong Foundation Award in 2003, the Chunhui Scholar Award by the Ministry of Education in 2004, the Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Award in 2006, the Hong Kong Technological Achievement Grand Award in 2007, the Natural Science Award by the Ministry of Education in 2015, and the Wuxi AppTech Life Science and Chemistry Award in 2016. He holds honorary professorships in Zhejiang University, Army’s Medical University, and Institute of Microsystems of Chinese Academy of Science. He currently also serves in various HKSAR government agencies including the Research Grants Council, the Innovation and Technology Fund, the Health and Medical Research Fund, and the Hong Kong Genome Institute. He has co-founded several biotech companies including Prenetics and Cellomics.