Dr Carsten Schulte awarded AMS Springboard funding
Dr Carsten Schulte has been awarded a prestigious AMS Springboard Award, supporting the establishment and expansion of a new research programme focused on glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive primary brain tumour in adults.
Glioblastoma currently has no cure, with a median survival time of just 12–18 months, underlining the urgent need for novel and more effective treatment strategies. Dr Schulte’s Springboard funding will enable him to explore the disease from an unconventional mechanobiological perspective, opening up new avenues for understanding tumour behaviour and therapeutic resistance.
“The Springboard award will genuinely act as a springboard for establishing and expanding my glioblastoma-related research line,” says Dr Schulte.
Rethinking glioblastoma through mechanobiology
While cancer research has traditionally focused on genetic drivers, it is becoming increasingly clear that the mechanical properties of cancer cells and their surrounding microenvironment play a crucial role in disease progression and treatment response. In glioblastoma in particular, features such as tissue stiffness and three‑dimensional extracellular matrix architecture are key determinants of tumour behaviour.
A major challenge in cancer research is that conventional in‑vitro experiments are typically carried out on flat, rigid plastic or glass substrates. From a cellular perspective, these surfaces are far removed from the soft, fibrous and three‑dimensional environments found within real tumours, often leading to experimental results that do not translate effectively into clinical success.
Engineering more realistic tumour environments
Using Springboard funding, Dr Schulte and his team will bioengineer advanced substrates that more closely replicate the mechanobiological properties of glioblastoma tumour microenvironments. These platforms will be used to study how interactions between tumour cells and their surrounding extracellular matrix influence:
- cell survival and invasion
- tumour heterogeneity and stem‑like characteristics
- resistance to radiotherapy and chemotherapy
The project will employ a suite of advanced bioimaging and mechanobiological techniques, including super‑resolution microscopy, deformability cytometry, Brillouin spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy, to capture these processes in unprecedented detail.
A highly interdisciplinary collaboration
The research brings together an extensive interdisciplinary network, involving colleagues from the Universities of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Milan. Expertise spanning cell and cancer biology, mechanobiology, bioengineering, pharmacology and bioinformatics will be integrated, with Dr Schulte’s laboratory acting as a key connector across the collaboration.
PhD opportunity
The award also includes funding for a PhD studentship (home student fees covered). Prospective candidates interested in glioblastoma research, mechanobiology or bioengineered disease models are encouraged to contact Dr Schulte directly to discuss the opportunity.
We congratulate Dr Schulte on this excellent achievement and look forward to seeing how this innovative research advances understanding of glioblastoma and contributes to the development of future therapeutic strategies.