Extracellular Matrix in Tumor Biology

​Rolf Brekken is Professor of Surgery and Pharmacology and Deputy Director of the Hamon Center Therapeutic Oncology Research at UT Southwestern. Dr. Brekken’s laboratory studies ECM signaling in tumors, therapeutic immune reactivation and how immune cells contribute to the metastatic cascade. He has authored over 150 peer-reviewed publications and is currently a senior editor at Cancer Research.  Dwayne Stupack is an associate professor of Reproductive Medicine and Pathology at the University of California San Diego, Moore’s Cancer Center.  Dr. Stupack’s laboratory work has been focused on the intersection of extracellular matrix signaling, the presentation of different forms of the same matrix to cells, and cell survival during tumor metastasis.  A past councilor of the American Society for Matrix Biology with more than 90 publications, Dr. Stupack currently edits the Society’s Matrix Letter.

• 1. The extracellular matrix of tumors: a focus on fibronectin and fibulin-5.- 2. Internalization of collagen: an important matrix turnover pathway in cancer.- 3. Lumican, a Small Leucine-Rich Proteoglycan, and Its Biological Function in Tumor Progression .- 4. Versican: Role in Cancer Tumorigenesis.- 5. Engineering advanced models of the glioblastoma microenvironment using biomaterials.- 6. Breaching and opening basement membrane barriers: the anchor cell leads the way.