Mary (Cindy) Farach-Carson

Extracellular matrix plays a central role in cell and tissue form and function. The growth promoting activities of instructive extracellular matrices provide a very rich environment to study both normal and abnormal pathways in stem cell biology, cancer biology and tissue remodeling. Studies in my laboratory aim to integrate extracellular matrix biology with three fields: a) salivary gland tissue engineering b) cancer biology and metastasis to bone, and (c) bone and musculoskeletal structure-function relations. Three-dimensional engineered microtissue models are used to study the behavior of both normal and aberrant cells and to study their behavior in a physiologically relevant context. Our translational partnerships support the development of new technologies needed to study cell behavior including for regenerative medicine and cancer biology applications. I strongly believe that including graduate, professional and undergraduate students, postdoctoral fellows and residents on collaborative teams ensures that the projects will be successful, both in terms of research productivity and educational goals.