Louise Medina Bengtsson

Program: Cancer Biology

Current advisor: Sheila A. Stewart, PhD

Undergraduate university: University of Notre Dame, 2021

Enrollment year: 2021

Research summary
Determining the role of the tumor microenvironment in breast cancer progression

Previous work from our lab has shown that senescent cancer-associated fibroblasts drive breast cancer progression by promoting immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment. However, it is not known what triggers senescence in these fibroblasts. Given that breast tumors exhibit higher stiffness compared to healthy breast tissue, I am currently studying whether increased ECM stiffness can induce senescence in mouse mammary fibroblasts.

Graduate publications