Here are just a few of the incredible people at the Knight Cancer Institute working to transform cancer science, early detection and the future of patient care. Read the full story.
Cristiane Miranda Franca, D.D.S., Ph.D.
Joined OHSU from University of Sao Paulo
Assistant professor at CEDAR and the School of Dentistry
Franca is a core faculty member in the Knight Cancer Precision Biofabrication Hub, recreating environments on-a-chip, such as mucosa and lymphatic vasculature, to study epithelial cancer development and invasion.
She is particularly interested in head and neck cancers, which are typically diagnosed in the late stages. Franca uses engineering tools to understand how early lesions that precede cancer evolve and interact with the immune system, with the goal of finding ways to develop strategies to achieve earlier diagnoses and stop cells from turning malignant.
Earlier this year, Franca was the lead author on an innovative study led by Luiz Bertassoni that uncovered how specialized cells surrounding small blood vessels contribute to blood vessel dysfunction in chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes and fibrosis. The findings, published in Science Advances, could change how these diseases are treated.
“I am a dentist by training, and I did my Ph.D. internship in a cancer hospital. I moved to the U.S. and met Luiz [Bertassoni], and he agreed to be my postdoc advisor. We saw the opportunity to complement my clinical background with training in tissue engineering and organs-on-a-chip, in these cutting-edge technologies that he does so well. That started a very fruitful partnership. … At CEDAR, it’s fascinating — their philosophy, the resources, the critical mass that they have fosters a lot of collaboration, and I’ve been very fortunate to be here and contribute to CEDAR’s and the Hub’s mission.”
