Kristin Kwakwa
University of Illinois
Julie Sterling lab
Kristin's thesis work involves the use of 3D tissue-engineered bone constructs to investigate the effects of the physical bone microenvironment on metastatic tumors as well as novel therapeutics for the treatment of tumor-induced bone disease. She is also investigating how the transcription factor Gli2, which is overexpressed in tumors that metastasize to bone, regulates integrin beta 3 and mechanical signaling.