A Look at the Tumor Microenvironment

The video above features the latest Koch Institute Image Award winner, called "Spatial Expressions: Snapshot of a Growing Tumor,” and is described by its creator, Leah Caplan.

Caplan works in the lab of Aviv Regev at the Broad Institute and studies the physical and molecular characteristics of the cells that reside in the area surrounding tumors, called the tumor microenvironment. Its thought that understanding the features of the cells in those environments, some of which are cancerous and some that are not, will enable researchers to develop better ways to treat tumors.

In the image, you can see a slice of a tumor taken from the colon of a mouse model. The green cells are all cancerous, and their boundaries have been labeled. The blue color inside labels the DNA in each cell.