Posted November 14, 2014
Amanda Chin, a second-year graduate student from Dr. Leo Q. Wan's laboratory for Tissue Engineering and Morphogenesis (TEAM), won the First Place Poster Award from the New Frontiers Symposium 2014: New Strategies and Technologies in Cancer Research, held in Albany, NY on Nov 14, 2014. Her abstract was also "deemed to be one of the best", and selected to give a podium presentation at the meeting. This award speaks highly of her research quality and presentation skills. The conference is organized by the Capital Region Cancer Research Group.
In the presented study, Amanda aims to detect cell chirality in a 3D system, a newly discovered fundamental property of the cell, documented previously in 2D using BioMEMS by Wan et al, PNAS in 2011. By extending cell chirality into 3D, this study has significant implications for epithelial cell morphogenesis and the development of tumors. The research is supported by the NSF CAREER Award, Pew Charitable Trust, and NIH New Innovator Award.