1st place at the UARK Undergraduate Research Symposium
Author: Logan Waddle | Major: Biophysics | Semester: Spring 2025
My name is Logan Waddle, a (now alumni) biophysics major from Fulbright College who did research with Dr. Jian Zhang of Biomedical Engineering in Fall 2024 and Spring 2025. My project’s goal was to determine mechanical factors that drive collective cancer cell invasion and connect these to cellular bioenergetics. Cancer metastasis is the leading cause of death for women with breast cancer. Understanding the cellular mechanisms that drive metastasis is therefore important to develop preventative methods. Our research focused on creating specialized microenvironments for cells to replicate physiological conditions while allowing us to measure the cellular forces and energetics of migrating cancer cells. To measure cellular forces, we create “tracks” on an elastic substrate. As cells move on the track, we can measure how much they deform the elastic substrate and subsequently calculate how much force the cells exert. For now, our research focuses on one-dimensional cell migration to keep calculations easier, but future research will likely focus on improving our in vitro model of replicating forces cells experience while migrating in 3D.
I did research in the Zhang lab for about two and a half years. I found the lab through a friend taking Introduction to Biomedical Engineering, where Dr. Zhang gave a presentation on his research. The idea of combining cancer research with biophysics suited my tastes, so I immediately applied. I’ve been very grateful to have Dr. Zhang as my mentor, as he’s incredibly involved in the research process. I was able to meet with him frequently to discuss where my project might be having issues and how to draw conclusions from the mountain of data I had. Our two graduate students have also been helping with my project when Dr. Zhang is unavailable.
Over the last two years of research, I’ve learned that research can be a very slow and very involved process. Making changes to procedures can sometimes take weeks of testing, which can be stressful when there’s an Honors Thesis deadline looming in the background. Most of the Spring 2025 semester was spent taking and analyzing cell traction force data while preparing to present at a variety of conferences and symposiums. We’ve also begun taking cellular NADH:NAD+ ratios as the cells migrate to see if there’s a relationship between traction force generated and cellular energy expenditure. What we noticed is that cells leading the collective migration process act almost like a train engine that drags the following cells along. Since this leader cell pulls the cells behind it forward, we also see slight increases in cellular glycolysis levels for this cell. We rounded out the semester by starting to test a new in vitro model of collective cancer cell migration that results in the leader cell experiencing greater forces. This is more akin to how the process works in 3D, and early results are promising. An undergraduate in the lab has taken an interest in this project, and I hope they take up the mantle and bring this project further along.
In the Spring 2025 semester, I was able to present our research at a few conferences and poster competitions. I presented a poster at the National Council on Undergraduate Research 2025 in Pittsburgh, which was an incredible experience. I also presented my poster at the Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Research Symposium and the University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Symposium. I was lucky enough to win first place at the UARK Undergraduate Symposium poster competition for the Engineering 2 group. I also defended my thesis towards the end of the semester and received highest honors. The data we’ve collected so far is a promising start to a project that might span multiple more years, laying the groundwork to connect cellular force generation to bioenergetics during collective migration. I’ve already graduated, and this project now lies in the hands of other lab members, but I’m confident they’ll take this foundation and build upon it in unique ways.