Optical Coherence Imaging Laboratory

Amy L. Josefsberg, Professor

Department of Physics & Astronomy

Biomedical Research Imaging Center

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Lab research efforts relevant to breast cancer

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women, affecting 12% of women worldwide, making it a leading cause of death. In normal tissue, mammary cells divide only as often as needed, and will die via a programmed cell death, known as apoptosis, when they are no longer needed. In breast cancer, however, cells continue to divide and do not die. Additionally, the tissue around the cells, known as the extracellular matrix (ECM), is restructured. This leads to an abnormal growth of highly invasive tissue. Our laboratory is applying our novel methods for nanoporosity imaging (link) and intracellular motility imaging (link) for specific applications in:

a) The Role of Remodeling of the Extracellular Matrix in Breast Cancer Progression

b) The Effect of Drug and Toxicant Exposures on Mammary Cells Grown in Tissue Culture

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