Mechanical factors play a major role in tumor progression, response to treatment and metastasis formation. The Project aims to provide an advanced mechanical framework to construct a detailed engineering multiscale model for solid tumor development. The model will focus on the relevant interspecific competitions among healthy and cancer cells, basing on nonlinear porous media mechanics so as to reconstruct realistic growth functions and actual intratumor stress fields. During the project development, multidisciplinary theoretical, numerical and experimental competences will be strongly interlaced, to build up a hierarchical model encompassing -through ad hoc conceived homogenization strategies which consider the main cross-scales feedbacks- the micromechanics of subcellular components, cell-cell and cell-ECM (extracellular matrix) interactions, as well as stress-induced effects (e.g. micro-vessel collapse, reaction-diffusion dynamics and plastic phenomena). In silico results will be checked against in vitro and in vivo experiments, for possible retuning and proper validation of the model. It is expected that this Project will shed light on some still unclear aspects of tumor mechanobiology, contributing to a more "precise medicine" by exploiting the pivotal role of Mechanics.
INTEGRATED MECHANOBIOLOGY APPROACHES FOR A PRECISE MEDICINE IN CANCER TREATMENT prin 2017
Benvenuti Elena
2019
Abstract
Mechanical factors play a major role in tumor progression, response to treatment and metastasis formation. The Project aims to provide an advanced mechanical framework to construct a detailed engineering multiscale model for solid tumor development. The model will focus on the relevant interspecific competitions among healthy and cancer cells, basing on nonlinear porous media mechanics so as to reconstruct realistic growth functions and actual intratumor stress fields. During the project development, multidisciplinary theoretical, numerical and experimental competences will be strongly interlaced, to build up a hierarchical model encompassing -through ad hoc conceived homogenization strategies which consider the main cross-scales feedbacks- the micromechanics of subcellular components, cell-cell and cell-ECM (extracellular matrix) interactions, as well as stress-induced effects (e.g. micro-vessel collapse, reaction-diffusion dynamics and plastic phenomena). In silico results will be checked against in vitro and in vivo experiments, for possible retuning and proper validation of the model. It is expected that this Project will shed light on some still unclear aspects of tumor mechanobiology, contributing to a more "precise medicine" by exploiting the pivotal role of Mechanics.I documenti in SFERA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
