David Odde Laboratory

Modeling in Cancer and Infectious Disease

My laboratory seeks to discover how cells migrate and how tumors grow, with a major focus in brain cancer progression.

In particular, we try to understand how the complex interplay of biochemical kinetics, diffusive transport, thermodynamics, and mechanical forces lead to disease progression, and use the understanding to identify effective treatment strategies. We've recently applied this approach to build a clinically-tested model for SARS-CoV-2 viral replication.

Approaches

We use three approaches in our research: 

  1. Modeling
  2. Microscopy
  3. Microsystems

These approaches are integrated so that precise quantitative measurements of physical quantities, such as forces and velocities, can be compared directly to model predictions. 

Collaborators

We also collaborate with genome engineers, cancer and immune biologists, and clinicians to implement an integrated, multidisciplinary approach. 

cell migration
medical adhesivity gif showing cell/module positions