16th "Physics of Cancer" Symposium

Session II: Mechanotransduction and matrix viscoelasticity

09:00 – 09:30	Cell adhesion mechanics across scales and interfaces Ada Cavalcanti-Adam (University of Bayreuth, Germany)
09:30 – 10:00	Optical coherence elastography: Imaging cancer mechanics on the micro-scale Brendan Kennedy (The University of Western Australia, Australia)
10:00 – 10:15	Spatial engineering of collagen ligand nanopatterns to study integrin-dependent migration in cancer Victoria Levario Diaz (University of Bayreuth, Germany)
10:15 – 10:45	Coffee break
10:45 – 11:15	Brain tumors are organized as active nematic liquid crystals Pedro Lowenstein (University of Michigan, USA)
11:15 – 11:30	Unraveling tumor vascular remodeling: Hemodynamic control and context-dependent effects of anti-angiogenic therapy in microfluidic models Fatemeh Mirzapour (TU Darmstadt, Germany)
11:30 – 12:00	ECM biophysics and cancer: Mechanisms, models, and therapeutic insights Claudia Fischbach-Teschl (Cornell University, USA)
12:00 – 12:30	Mechanical characterization of neural organoids in development and disease Friedhelm Serwane (Ulm University, Germany)
from 12:30 - 15:00	P O S T E R S E S S I O N - Young Scientist Awards -
Listed in alphabetical order
1	Epithelial tissue response under solid shear stress Narmin Abasova (FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany)
2	Adipose tissue modulates cancer cell mechanics Eliane Blauth (Leipzig University, Germany)
3	Tissue interfaces as instructive microenvironments for breast cancer cell phenotype switching Cornelia Clemens (Leipzig University, Germany)
4	Mesenchymal-epithelial transition reduces proliferation but increases immune evasion in tumor spheroids Gina Dimari (TU Dresden, Germany)
5	Raman spectroscopy applied to ovarian cancer Zeinab Farhat (Le Mans University, France)
6	Biophysical hallmarks of early-onset colorectal cancer: From tissue stiffening to altered epithelial proliferation Jacopo Ferruzzi (University of Texas at Dallas, USA)
7	Quantification of infiltration mechanisms in a stem cell-based brain tumor organoid model Michael Frischmann (Ludwig Maximillians University Munich, Germany)
8	Effects of the traditional Vietnamese drug XaLinh on the actin cytoskeleton of cancer cells Thomas Fuhs (iba Heiligenstadt, Germany)
9	Bioprinting of tumor microenvironments Radik Gataulin (FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany)
10	Mechanical polarity in cell migration Steffen Grosser (IBEC Barcelona, Spain)
11	In-silico modelling of nucleus-driven cell jamming and shape dynamics Leon Hillmann (Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands)
12	Tumor solid stress in glioma is associated with poor patient survival Noah Jaitner (Charité, Germany)
13	Optical multifrequency time-harmonic elastography for fresh tissue samples Jakob Jordan (Charité, Germany)
14	Investigating neuroblastoma niche adaptation and tumor mechanics in a zebrafish pseudo-metastasis model Julia Köppke (Charité, Germany)
15	Bridging the gap between single cell and tissue mechanics with tumour organoids Mathilde Lettinga (TU Dresden, Germany)
16	Spatial engineering of collagen ligand nanopatterns to study integrin-dependent migration in cancer Victoria Levario Diaz (University of Bayreuth, Germany)
17	Dual attack against skin cancer-supporting anticancer drugs by membrane-organization-breaking (Mem-Break) antibiotics Adéla Melcrová (University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands)
18	Unraveling tumor vascular remodeling: Hemodynamic control and context-dependent effects of anti-angiogenic therapy in microfluidic models Fatemeh Mirzapour (TU Darmstadt, Germany)
19	Flicker physics: Phase-contrast VFA of plasma-membrane mechanics Marharyta Podliian (Leipzig University, Germany)
20	Biomechanical characterization of VX2 liver tumors using MR Elastography in a translational rabbit model Justus Ramtke (Charité, Germany)
21	Development of MM and AML models in a microfluidic chip system Annika Reisbitzer (iba Heiligenstadt, Germany)
22	The nematic extracellular matrix and cancer cell motility Kilian Roth (Charité, Germany)
23	Rapid high-resolution mechanical characterization in multiscale cancer research with optical multifrequency time-harmonic elastography Frank Sauer (Charité, Germany)
24	Brillouin Microscopy: A tool for 3D imaging in mechanobiology Raimund Schlüßler (Cellsense Technologies GmbH, Germany)
25	Impact of Taxol® on collective cell motility Anne Marie Scholz (Leipzig University, Germany)
26	Active nematics on a viscoelastic substrate Gianmarco Spera (University of Oxford, UK)
27	Breaking the balance: Targeting aldolase A in hepatocellular carcinoma leads to glycolytic instability in metabolism Ralf Steuer (Leipzig University, Germany)
28	Ultrasound time-harmonic elastography in live adult zebrafish Mareike Wolff (Charité, Germany)
29	Experimental model of the mechanobiology of the immunocompetent tumor ecosystem Janet van der Graaf Mas (IBEC Barcelona, Spain)

15:00 – 15:30	Mechanical control of enzymatic processes via talin Ben Goult (University of Liverpool, GB)
15:30 – 15:45	Raman spectroscopy applied to ovarian cancer Zeinab Farhat (Le Mans University, France)
15:45 – 16:15	Predicting phenotype to mechanotype relationshsips in migrating cancer cells Parag Katira (San Diego State University, USA)

Wednesday - September 24, 2025

Session III: Liquid crystalline states of (cancer) tissues

09:00 – 09:30	Active liquid crystals and beyond: new symmetries in cancerous tissues Luca Giomi (Leiden University, The Netherlands)
09:30 – 10:00	Activity of intranuclear motors controls tumor cell migration through tight 3D spaces Paul Janmey (University of Pennsylvania, USA)
10:00 – 10:30	Coffee break
10:30 – 11:00	Mechanical imprints of cell competition Benoit Ladoux (MPI for Physics and Medicine, Germany)
11:00 – 11:15	Active nematics on a viscoelastic substrate Gianmarco Spera (University of Oxford, UK)
11:15 – 11:45	Tissue spontaneous motions Jacques Prost (Institut Curie, France)
Session IV: Immuno/therapy-mechanics

11:45 – 12:15	Gas vesicles: Little bombs to drop on tumors Françoise Brochard (Institut Curie Paris, France)
12:15 – 12:30	Dual attack against skin cancer-supporting anticancer drugs by membrane-organization-breaking (Mem-Break) antibiotics Adéla Melcrová (University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands)
12:30 – 13:30	Lunch break
13:30 – 14:00	Linking structural to dynamical properties in dense cell tissues Liesbeth Janssen (Eindhoven University of Technology, NL)
14:00 – 14:15	Mesenchymal-epithelial transition reduces proliferation but increases immune evasion in tumor spheroids Gina Dimari (TU Dresden, Germany)
14:15 – 14:45	Interstitial flow in progression and treatment of glioblastoma Jennifer Munson (Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, USA)
14:45 – 15:15	Coffee break
15:15 – 15:30	Breaking the balance: Targeting aldolase A in hepatocellular carcinoma leads to glycolytic instability in metabolism Ralf Steuer (Leipzig University, Germany)
15:30 – 16:00	Shaping the ECM in the cancer tissue microenvironment Erik Danen (Leiden University, The Netherlands)
ca. 16:30	Closing remarks