New research group at MPZPM investigates cancer biomechanics
Cancer develops when cells change and spread uncontrollably throughout the body as tumor cells. Dr. Eleni Dalaka wants to find out how physical forces and mechanical properties of cells influence cancer, from its initiation to its invasion and metastasis. Her newly founded research group “Cancer Biomechanics” has found the ideal conditions for its research project at the Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin (MPZPM) in Erlangen.
Using modern optical and mechanical methods as well as engineered cancer models, the independent leader of the research group “Cancer Biomechanics”, Eleni Dalaka, is investigating three key aspects. First, she and her team want to understand why some cells metastasise and others don’t, and what the mechanical properties of these aggressive cells are. The scientists are also researching the role of the tumor microenvironment. For example, the group wants to know which mechanical forces arise in the tumor microenvironment, and how they change the mechanical properties and invasiveness of cancer cells. Furthermore, they are investigating how the immune system can assess these biomechanical signals and use them to fight cancer. Dalaka aims to decipher how the mechanical properties of tumor organoids change over time, if they experience different mechanical inputs such as compression or extension. “Initially, we aim to identify the underlying biophysical mechanisms that drive cancer metastasis. Our goal is to use the findings to develop new therapeutic approaches based on cancer biomechanics”, says Dalaka.
About Dr. Eleni Dalaka
Eleni Dalaka studied Applied Physics at the National Technical University of Athens, Greece. She then obtained her PhD from the University of St Andrews, UK, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Malte Gather. There, she used novel optical techniques to measure mechanical forces exerted by cancer cells across several length scales. After that, Dr. Dalaka joined the Integrative Cell and Tissue Dynamics group, at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia as a Postdoctoral Researcher, where she developed new 3D co-culture systems to mimic complete tumor tissues in vitro and study T cell migration and immune responses in complex systems. Since July 2025, Dr. Eleni Dalaka has been an independent researcher in the Guck Division at the Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin, where she plans to combine optical methods with novel cell culturing techniques, to study the mechanics of cancer during metastasis and the forces of T cells during cytotoxic events against tumors.
