Bo Ri Seo

Email: bs438@cornell.edu

Research Focus

My research focuses on investigating how obesity exacerbates breast tumor progression. Obesity has been highlighted as a risk and adverse prognostic factor for breast cancer, yet the specific mechanism that links obesity and breast cancer has remained elusive. Breast tissue mainly consists of adipose tissue, which contains adipocytes and adipose stromal cells (ASCs), making crosstalk between breast cancer cells and their neighboring adipocytes and ASCs inevitable after the onset of a breast tumor. Moreover, the dynamic change of adiposity is a key feature of obesity, namely hypertrophy and hyperplasia of adipocytes and the disturbance of their functions, including up-regulation of pro-tumorigenic/inflammatory factors and extracellular matrix-associated proteins. Also, the dysfunctional adipocyte-derived factors can affect determination of the intrinsic phenotypic traits of their neighboring ASCs. Thus, I am trying to investigate the pro-tumorigenic capacity of the obesity-associated adipocytes and ASCs and understand how they contribute to breast tumor stiffness and tumor angiogenesis (i.e. blood vessel formation), which are two hallmarks of cancers.

Prior to joining the Fischbach lab, I received my B.S. degree in Food Science and Biotechnology from Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. In 2011, I received my M.S. from Cornell University and am continuing to pursue my Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering.


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