Shannon Stott, PhD | MGH Research Scholar Profile
Microfluidic Devices to Improve Cancer Diagnostics and Treatment
d’Arbeloff MGH Research Scholar 2022-2027
Assistant Investigator, Mass General Cancer Center
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
One of the proposed mechanisms of cancer metastasis – the spread of cancer from a primary tumor site to other areas of the body – is the dissemination of tumor cells from the primary organ into the blood stream. A cellular link between the primary malignant tumor and the peripheral metastases has been established in the form of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in peripheral blood.
While extremely rare (1 in 10 billion cells), these CTCs provide a potentially accessible source for early detection, characterization and monitoring of cancers that would otherwise require invasive serial biopsies. The emerging fields of medical technology and microfluidics offer a radically different approach to rare cell detection, which is particularly relevant to the isolation of CTCs.
Rapid advances in microfluidics, imaging and biological sample preparation are converging into new capabilities for blood, tissue and single cell analysis. Microfluidic devices are extremely enabling for the minimally invasive isolation of rare cells, extracellular vesicles and disease-specific proteins from whole blood.
The Stott Lab combines the fundamental basics of microfluidic design with biomaterials and advanced imaging modalities, to interrogate rare cells and proteins. Driven by our strong collaborations with clinicians at Mass General, we frequently adapt and adjust our research focus to the most pressing questions in clinical medicine.
This ranges from multispectral imaging of tumor specimens in three dimensions to developing new diagnostic tools for COVID patients. Overall, it is our goal to stay adaptable, to listen and to innovate with our clinical partners, and to identify where our engineering skills can provide the greatest benefit to patient care.
Work to be supported by the MGH Research Scholar award has the potential to have direct impact on cancer patient care, providing prognostic information, personalized treatment selection and helping to match patients with the appropriate clinical trials. For pediatric patients with cancer, the benefit will be more immediate. We are working to finalize our assay to subtype pediatric brain tumors from a blood draw, while also working to develop a test for recurrence monitoring.
The Stott lab combines the fundamental basics of microfluidic design with biomaterials and advanced imaging modalities, to interrogate rare cells and proteins. Driven by our strong collaborations with clinicians at Mass General, we frequently adapt and adjust our research focus to the most pressing questions in clinical medicine.
This ranges from multispectral imaging of tumor specimens in three dimensions to developing new diagnostic tools for COVID patients. Overall, it is our goal to stay adaptable, to listen and to innovate with our clinical partners, and to identify where our engineering skills can provide the greatest benefit to patient care.
Our work could have direct impact on cancer patient care, providing prognostic information, personalized treatment selection and helping to match patients with the appropriate clinical trials. For pediatric patients with cancer, the benefit will be more immediate. We are working to finalize our assay to subtype pediatric brain tumors from a blood draw, while also working to develop a test for recurrence monitoring.