A Roadmap towards Developing Mechanobiochemical Models for Single and Collective Cell Migration through Complex Non-Isotropic Environments

According to recently published research study in Canada Medical Association Journal, in 2024, the number of new cancer cases and deaths from cancer were expected to reach 247 100 and 88 100, respectively. A key driver of cancer formation, development and its metastasis are single cancer cells. Understanding the biochemical processes that drive their force generation and polarisation and their mechanical properties might aid our understanding of how single cancer cells evolve over time and how they aid the formation of primary and secondary tumours. Cell migration is essential for many biological processes; e.g. immune response, embryogenesis, and cancer metastasis. The aim of this 5-day workshop is to bring applied mathematicians, cellular, molecular and developmental biologists, biophysicists, biostatisticians, biomechanical engineers and biotechnologists to deliberate on a roadmap towards developing 2- and 3-D mechanobiochemical models (MBMs) for single and collective cell migration through non-isotropic environments. The ultimate goal is to develop biophysically- and mathematically-engineered artificial cells that can be easily interrogated and perturbed for medical, biomedical, cancer and drug-delivery research at low cost, while reducing the use of animals in experiments.