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URL;TYPE=URI:https://www.wpi.edu/news/calendar/events/sotak-lecture-bme-cyn
 thia-reinhart-king-rice-university-mechano-metabolic-control-cell-behavior
SUMMARY:Sotak Lecture in BME: Cynthia Reinhart-King\, Rice University: “M
 echano-Metabolic Control of Cell Behavior”
LOCATION:United States
DESCRIPTION:Image\n  \n\n\n\n“Mechano-Metabolic Control of Cell Behavior
 ”\n\n\nImage\n  \n\n\n\nCynthia A. Reinhart-King\, PhD.\nRice University
 \nBioengineering\nAbstract: Cellular metabolism describes a family of reac
 tions that create the energy and biosynthetic precursors and products that
  are the building blocks of the cell. It is fundamental to cell function\,
  including cell migration. To move\, cells must utilize ATP to fuel the ce
 llular contractility and forces that sustain migration\, however very litt
 le is known about how the metabolic state of a cell affects its ability to
  migrate and vice versa. In this talk\, I will describe my lab’s efforts
  to understand the forces driving cell movements in the tumor microenviron
 ment and the energy required for movement. Combining tissue engineering ap
 proaches\, mouse models\, and patient samples\, we create and validate in 
 vitro systems to understand how cells navigate the tumor stroma environmen
 t to identify novel targets of cancer metastasis. Microfabrication and nat
 ive biomaterials are used to build mimics of the paths created and taken b
 y cells during metastasis. Using these platforms\, we have described a rol
 e for a balance between cellular energetics\, cell and matrix stiffness\, 
 and confinement in determining migration behavior. Moreover\, we have exte
 nded this work into investigating the intersection of diabetes and the dia
 betic tissue microenvironment with tumor progression\, showing that mechan
 ical changes in the tissue due to diabetes can promote cancer.Overall\, ou
 r work has demonstrated key mechanometabolic drivers of metastasis within 
 the tissue microenvironment.\nBio: Cynthia Reinhart-King is the John W. Co
 x Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Bioengineering at Ri
 ce University. Before joining Rice\, she was a University Distinguished Pr
 ofessor in Biomedical Engineering and Cell and Developmental Biology at Va
 nderbilt University\, where she also served as Senior Associate Dean for R
 esearch in the School of Engineering. She obtained undergraduate degrees i
 n Chemical Engineering and Biology at MIT and her PhD at the University of
  Pennsylvania in the Department of Bioengineering. Her lab’s research in
 terests are cell and tissue mechanobiology in cancer and atherosclerosis. 
 She was awarded the Rita Schaffer Young Investigator Award\, the inaugural
  Mid-Career Award\, and the Herb Voigt Service Award from the Biomedical E
 ngineering Society\, an NSF CAREER Award\, the Sonny Yau ‘72 Excellence 
 in Teaching Award\, the Cornell University Cook Award and the Zellman Warh
 aft Award from the Cornell College of Engineering\, the Vanderbilt Chancel
 lor’s Award for Research and the Edward J. White Service Award from the 
 Vanderbilt University School of Engineering. She is a fellow of the Biomed
 ical Engineering Society\, the American Institute for Medical and Biologic
 al Engineering (AIMBE)\, and the International Academy of Medical and Biol
 ogical Engineering\, and she was an inaugural New Voices Fellow of the Nat
 ional Academies of Science\, Engineering and Medicine. She served as a sta
 nding member of the NIH CMT study section panel\, an elected Board Member 
 of AIMBE\, Secretary and Elected Board member of BMES\, and Chair of the D
 iversity and Inclusion Committee of AIMBE. She is the Past-President of th
 e Biomedical Engineering Society.\nChristopher Sotak Biomedical Engineerin
 g Lecture Series\nChristopher H. Sotak was a beloved friend and colleague\
 , who selflessly shared his positive spirit with faculty and students alik
 e\, spending countless hours offering his always thoughtful mentorship\, g
 uidance and support. During his more than 22 years at WPI\, he greatly enj
 oyed working with students\, and took great joy in involving undergraduate
  and graduate students in research. Chris also served as the head of Biome
 dical Engineering Department from 1999 to 2006. His legacy includes leadin
 g the growth and development of the department to its current prominence b
 y recruiting and mentoring faculty as well as developing curricular and pr
 ogrammatic initiatives at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. His 
 contributions to the WPI community will live on in the hearts and minds of
  the many people whose lives he touched.\nSotak was a pioneer in the medic
 al use of MRI\, beginning his groundbreaking research even before the firs
 t human scanners were developed in the early 1980s. After completing his B
 A\, MA and PhD degrees in chemistry\, Chris worked at GE for several years
  before joining the faculty of WPI.During his career at WPI\, Chris earned
  significant recognition for his research\, including the Established Inve
 stigator Award from the American Heart Association and WPI's Board of Trus
 tees' Award for Outstanding Research and Creative Scholarship as well as F
 ellow distinctions from the International Society for Magnetic Resonance i
 n Medicine (ISMRM) and the American Institute for Medical and Biological E
 ngineering (AIMBE). Furthermore\, he was an active participant in scientif
 ic conferences around the world.\nIn memory of his contributions to WPI\, 
 the BME Department\, along with several generous donors\, endowed the Chri
 stopher Sotak Biomedical Engineering Lecture Series. The goal of this endo
 wed Chris Sotak scholarship is for the BME Department to perpetuate Chris
 ’s passionate commitment to supporting student training and promoting in
 novative scholarship/research efforts in the field of biomedical engineeri
 ng.Each year\, we invite a distinguished scientist or engineer to speak on
  a high impact topic in the field of biomedical engineering.
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