Staffan Strömblad’s Research Group
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Studying cancer development and progression

We have taken on the challenge to improve our fundamental understanding on how cancer develops and progresses. Our focus is cancer cell migration, a process critical to cancer cell dissemination by metastasis, the main lethality factor of cancer. To better understand cancer cell migration, we are using a systems microscopy approach, where live cell microscopy of migrating cancer cells is combined with mathematical analyses and modeling. We are also investigating how p21-activated kinase 4 affects cancer development and progression, in particular cell proliferation and migration, and how the microenvironment extracellular matrix influences the same processes.

We perform a large part of our investigations in a team oriented fashion. We also have a large number of national and international collaborations and actively participate in different networks, including the European Union-FP7-Systems Microscopy Network of Excellence and the Karolinska Institute’s Breast Cancer Theme Center (BRECT). Staffan Strömblad is the Coordinator and Vice director, respectively, for these two networks. Strömblad is also director of the Live Cell Imaging facility at Department of Biosciences and Nutrition at Karolinska Institutet, where we perform our microscopic imaging.

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