Ellen Langer

Ellen Langer, Ph.D., is a leading researcher in cancer biology and cellular plasticity. Her work focuses on understanding mechanisms of tumor development and progression, particularly in breast and pancreatic cancers, through the lens of tumor-stromal interactions and phenotypic heterogeneity. She pioneered the use of 3D bioprinted tumor models to study the tumor microenvironment and crosstalk between cancer cells and stromal components.

Education: B.S., University of Notre Dame (2001); Ph.D., Washington University in St. Louis (2007). Postdoctoral training with Dr. Ken Murphy, Dr. Mario Capecchi, and Dr. Rosalie Sears.

Research Interests: Cellular plasticity in neoplastic and non-neoplastic cells, mechanisms driving therapeutic resistance, and the role of extrinsic factors like nutrient stress or therapies in tumor phenotypes. Her lab employs 2D/3D models and mouse systems to target tumor-stromal crosstalk.

Publications highlight innovations in bioprinting, drug development (e.g., micelle-formulated juglone), and molecular mechanisms involving MYC, PIN1, and PP2A pathways. Ongoing work explores synthetic living materials and clonal T cell responses in pancreatic cancer recurrence.

Notable contributions include modeling tumor heterogeneity in HER2+ breast cancer and developing tools to study differentiation-state transitions. Collaborations span bioengineering, computational biology, and clinical oncology.