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Elena Scarpa is a researcher in the Department of Physiology, Development, and Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on understanding the movements of cells within mammalian tissues, particularly in the context of physiological migration and the implications for cancer development. Scarpa studies a specific group of highly migratory embryonic cells known as neural crest cells, which migrate through narrow spaces in fish embryos. Her work seeks to determine the effects of physical stress on these cells and how it may contribute to childhood cancers such as neuroblastoma. Key research questions include the investigation of asymmetric cell division under compression, the potential for compressive stresses to cause chromosomal damage, and the mechanisms that enable tumor initiation. Scarpa employs zebrafish models to explore these issues and is developing innovative in vivo strategies to perturb the microenvironmental conditions that affect neural crest cells. Through her research, she aims to shed light on the physiological mechanical stresses that these cells encounter, contributing to a better understanding of how neuroblastomas may arise from neural crest cells.
Department of Physiology, Development, and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge • Cambridge, GB
Conducting research on the physiological mechanisms affecting cell migration and their implications for cancer.
Standard postgraduate requirements for Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS) and related humanities departments.