Claudia Fischbach Explained

Claudia Fischbach
Workplaces:	Cornell University Harvard University
Alma Mater:	University of Regensburg Harvard University
Thesis Title:	Adipose tissue engineering development of a 3-D model system of adipogenesis.
Thesis Url:	https://worldcat.org/en/title/1184086148
Thesis Year:	2004

Claudia Fischbach is a German bioengineer who is the Stanley Bryer 1946 Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University. She is Director of the Cornell Physical Sciences Oncology Center on the Physics of Cancer Metabolism.

Early life and education

Fischbach earned a master's degree in pharmacy from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. She worked toward her doctorate in pharmaceutical technology at the University of Regensburg. She then moved to Harvard University, where she worked in tissue engineering.^[1]

Research and career

In 2007, Fischbach joined Cornell University,^[2] where she started using biomedical engineering to better understand how to treat cancer.^[3] The progression of cancer is influenced by interactions with nearby cells and the extracellular matrix. Despite that, the majority of cancer studies do not replicate conditions outside of the body. Fischbach uses tissue engineering to design systems that let her lab model and investigate how these interactions influence tumor cells. She uses model systems to understand the biological strategies tumors adopt to modify bodily function, become more aggressive, and metastasize.^[4]

Fischbach has extensively investigated the fundamental mechanisms that underpin breast cancer. For example, she showed that obesity can change the composition of breast tissue, which can promote disease progression.^{[5] [6]} Moreover, she was supported by the Human Frontier Science Program to study the impact of breast cancer on the material properties of bone.^{[7] [8]} She showed that exercise, which is often prescribed to prevent bone loss, could also help to protect people against metastatic cancer.^[9] In addition, her research demonstrated that breast cancer can trigger distant bone growth, which could be a preemptive defense against metastasis.^[10]

Awards and honors

• 2015 Public Voices Fellow of The OpEd Project^[11]
• 2016 Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering^{[12] [13]}
• 2017 Alexander von Humboldt Foundation^[14]
• 2018 Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society
• 2022 Cornell University College of Engineering EPICC Award^[15]
• 2023 Biomedical Engineering Society Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering Momentum Award^{[16] [17]}

Selected publications

• Siyoung Choi, Matthew A Whitman, Adrian A Shimpi, ... Claudia Fischbach (7 August 2023). "Bone-matrix mineralization dampens integrin-mediated mechanosignalling and metastatic progression in breast cancer." Nature Biomedical Engineering. PMID 37550422.
• Bo Ri Seo, Xingyu Chen, Lu Ling, ... Claudia Fischbach (8 May 2020). "Collagen microarchitecture mechanically controls myofibroblast differentiation." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. PMID 32385149.
• Bo Ri Seo, Priya Bhardwaj, Siyoung Choi ... Claudia Fischbach (19 August 2015). "Obesity-dependent changes in interstitial ECM mechanics promote breast tumorigenesis." Science Translational Medicine. PMID 26290412.
• Maureen E Lynch, Daniel Brooks, Sunish Mohanan, ... Claudia Fischbach (3 May 2013). "In vivo tibial compression decreases osteolysis and tumor formation in a human metastatic breast cancer model." Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. PMID 23649605.
• Claudia Fischbach, Hyun Joon Kong, Susan X Hsiong, ... David J Mooney (6 January 2009). "Cancer cell angiogenic capability is regulated by 3D culture and integrin engagement." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. PMID 19126683.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Claudia Fischbach . 2023-01-06 . mooneylab.seas.harvard.edu . en.
2. Web site: Principal Investigator – THE FISCHBACH LAB . 2023-01-06 . www.fischbachlab.org.
3. Web site: Research – THE FISCHBACH LAB . 2023-01-06 . www.fischbachlab.org.
4. Web site: Claudia Fischbach Cornell Engineering . 2023-01-06 . www.engineering.cornell.edu . en.
5. Web site: Stiffer breast tissue in obese women promotes tumors . 2023-01-06 . Cornell Chronicle . en.
6. Web site: Ramanujan-Cornell . Krishna . 2015-08-25 . Obesity makes breast tissue stiff and scarred . 2023-01-06 . Futurity . en-US.
7. Web site: Study to focus on breast cancer's effect on bone composition . 2023-01-06 . Cornell Chronicle . en.
8. Web site: Metastatic breast cancer affects bone mineral before spreading . 2023-01-06 . Cornell Chronicle . en.
9. Web site: Exercise could reduce bone tumor growth . 2023-01-06 . Cornell Chronicle . en.
10. Web site: Researchers link breast cancer and bone growth . 2023-01-06 . Cornell Chronicle . en.
11. Web site: Stories by Claudia Fischbach . 2023-01-06 . Scientific American . en.
12. Web site: Claudia Fischbach-Teschl Claudia Fischbach-Teschl, Ph.D. To be Inducted into Medical and Biological Engineering Elite - AIMBE . 2023-01-06 . en.
13. Web site: Claudia Fischbach-Teschl, Ph.D. COF-1951 - AIMBE . 2023-01-06 . en.
14. Web site: Prof. Dr. Claudia Fischbach-Teschl - Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung .
15. Web site: EPICC Awards honor faculty, staff exemplifying college's core values Cornell Engineering . 2023-01-06 . www.engineering.cornell.edu.
16. Web site: Claudia Fischbach-Teschl wins 2023 CMBE Momentum Award Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering . 2023-01-06 . www.bme.cornell.edu.
17. Web site: CMBE Momentum Award - Biomedical Engineering Society . 2023-01-06 . www.bmes.org.