Research Program and Theme
Cancer Technology and Data Science | Molecular Measurement
Research Focus
Taher Saif has been working on cancer for over fifteen years, with the goal is to explore the underlying mechanism of cellular mechanotransduction in a physiologically relevant context, particularly human diseases. Towards this goal, he has developed several modalities for measuring cell forces, new imaging methods that allow visualizing cells and their intracellular dynamics while they are under mechanical stretch. His current research includes mechanics of neurons and cardiac cells, in vitro metastasis of human colon cancer cells induced by mechanical microenvironmental, and development of biological machines from cell clusters. The central theme of his research is to address the fundamental question of how cells transduce mechanical signals to their functionality. Visit his research lab’s website for more information.
Education
- Ph.D., Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Cornell University, 1993
Campus Affiliations
- Edward William and Jane Marr Gutgsell Professor, Mechanical Science and Engineering
- Professor, Mechanical Science and Engineering
- Professor, Bioengineering
- Professor, Biomedical and Translational Sciences
- Professor, Neuroscience Program
- Professor, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology
- Professor, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology
- Professor, Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
Select Honors and Recognitions
- NSF CAREER Award, 1998
- AAAS Fellow, 2022
- ASME Fellow, 2011
- Warner T. Koiter Medal, 2018
- SES Engineering Science Medal, 2020