I Heart Research: We speak to the winner of last year ’s ‘Research in progress’ photo competition

“I Heart Research”Sarah Boyle, Centre for Cancer Biology, Adelaide, South Australia. Tell us about your winning image from last year’s BMC ‘Research in progress’ photo competition Sarah Boyle, winner of the ‘Research in progress’ photo competition 2017. Breast cancer is the most widely diagnosed cancer in women world-wide, and despite advances in treatment, still remains a major cause of cancer-related death. My winning image, “I Heart Research”, was of a fluorescent mouse mammary tumor, captured during my studies into breast cancer progression. This mouse was genetically engineered to develop mammary cancer in the way that humans develop breast cancer, allowing us to study progression of the disease. Using specialist microscopes and imaging equipment, I am able to visualize many different proteins all within the same sample. This tumor was labeled for the active form of a protein (red), which is involved in regulating the cell cytoskeleton and movement. As cancer develops, levels of this protein increase as cells start to become invasive. What are the next steps for you in your research? We have discovered that the proteins involved in cell movement (labeled red) are more active during the later stages of breast cancer, particularly in invasive disease. We believe that if we can block this protein, or other molecules that this protein interacts with, it could be a new therapeutic option to improve outcomes for patients. Going forwards, we therefore ...
Source: BioMed Central Blog - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Research in progress photo competition Source Type: blogs