Event Date
When Push Comes to Shove: How Mechanical Forces Drive Cancer Progression
Dr. Mary Kathryn Sewell-Loftin, University of Alabama
Dr. Mary Kathryn (M.K.) Sewell-Loftin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), where she also serves as an Associate Scientist at the O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center. She earned her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Vanderbilt University in 2014, followed by postdoctoral training at Washington University in St. Louis in both the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Internal Medicine – Oncology Division.
Dr. Sewell-Loftin's research focuses on investigating biomechanical regulation within 3D tissues to understand fundamental cellular behaviors, with particular expertise in cancer mechanobiology. Her laboratory develops specialized in vitro models using microfluidic devices that allow precise control over multiple biomechanical parameters, enabling the separation of biochemical and biomechanical signaling investigations. Her current work examines how biomechanical forces regulate the tumor microenvironment, including angiogenesis, cancer cell proliferation, migration, and chemosensitivity, with a focus on triple negative breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Her research is supported by significant funding, including an American Cancer Society Research Scholar Grant. Dr. Sewell-Loftin has received numerous honors, including the 2025 Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering Young Innovator Award and was selected as a 2025 Pittman Scholar at the UAB Heersink School of Medicine.