Sarah Bhatt

Sarah Bhatt studies how mechanical properties of the extracellular matrix drive epithelial-mesenchymal transition and cancer cell invasion, demonstrating that substrate stiffness and viscoelasticity regulate the EMT transcription factor program through mechanosensitive signaling pathways. Her work has revealed that cancer cells migrating through confined ECM spaces undergo nuclear deformation that triggers DNA damage and genomic instability, potentially accelerating tumor evolution. She has developed 3D collagen-based invasion assays with tunable mechanical properties for drug screening. Her research connects ECM mechanics with cancer cell plasticity and genomic instability.