Saket Bagde, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Boston Children's Hospital Area of Research: All Cancers About 80–90% of all cancer cases develop in the epithelial tissue which includes the skin, the lining of organs, and internal passageways in our body. Hemidesmosomes (HDs) are adhesive structures that function like Velcro to anchor the epithelial cells to the underlying base layer, maintaining the integrity of the tissue. During wound healing, HDs are disassembled to allow cells at the wound edge to move and fill the wound. However, in certain types of cancers, this process is exploited by tumor cells to detach and spread to other parts of the body. Dr. Bagde aims to study how multiple components of HDs interlock like Lego blocks to make stable HDs in normal tissues, as well as how HDs are disassembled in cancer tissues. These insights will help design cancer therapeutics to prevent HD disassembly in cancer while preserving its normal function in tissue integrity and repair. Additionally, the formation of HDs is important for growing epithelial organoids which are self-organizing mini-organs grown in a petri dish, used for studying disease progression. To grow mini-organs in the lab, there is a need for an alternative base layer that mimics the supportive properties of the native base layer in organs. Dr. Bagde will, therefore, work on developing simple base layers that promote the formation of HDs and support the growth of mini-organs derived from both normal and cancerous epithelial tissues. This work will be valuable for growing tumor-derived organoids that replicate the specific properties of native tumors and have potential applications in developing and testing personalized cancer therapies. Projects and Grants Integrin α6β4 in hemidesmosome dynamics: structural and functional insights for tissue homeostasis, organoid growth, and cancer Boston Children’s Hospital | All Cancers | 2025 | Timothy Springer, PhD
