Andrew Ewald

Andrew Ewald developed three-dimensional culture models revealing how CAFs and breast cancer cells co-evolve during invasion, demonstrating that CAFs undergo reciprocal reprogramming through direct contact with invasive cancer cells that progressively enhances their tumor-promoting properties in a positive feedback loop. His work on collective invasion showed that leader cells at the invasive front engage CAFs to create collagen-aligned highways that guide subsequent waves of cancer cell migration toward blood vessels. He investigates disrupting the co-evolutionary dialogue between CAFs and cancer cells to prevent the progressive stromal activation that drives metastatic progression.