Logan Travers

Logan Travers

Biography

Logan Travers is a sophomore Chemical Engineering Major attending Howard University with a passion for translational research. Witnessing the impact of mental and physical illnesses within her community heavily influenced her aspirations to study genetics and molecular pathology of critical disorders. Her interest in etiology pushes her to attain a PhD, where she hopes to better understand and ultimately manipulate the mechanics and progression of diseases. At MIT, Logan conducted hypoxia analysis on metastatic brain, lung, and breast cancers in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering under Dr. Michael Cima. This experience reinforced her commitment to approaching biomedical challenges from an engineering perspective and applying an interdisciplinary lens to her research interests. Her growing interests and skills in microbiology, engineering, and pathology continue to motivate her goals of leading a research laboratory as an aspiring Principal Investigator. In her free time,Logan enjoys putting together puzzles, completing word games, and playing tennis. These hobbies reflect her appreciation for science, strategy, and mathematics. She is eager to bring her background in written communication, critical thinking, and research to applied sciences.

Abstract

Oxygen Analysis of Hypoxia for Metastatic Cancer Cell Cultures

Tumor hypoxia, a common feature of aggressive tumors like Glioblastoma (GBM), is critical for brain metastasis and contributes to therapy resistance. Measuring oxygen gradients directly within GBM or brain metastasis sites remains technically challenging, due to spatially heterogeneity of tumor microenvironments (TME). Accurate quantification of oxygen levels in physiologically relevant models is essential for advancing our understanding of how hypoxia affects tumor behavior and treatment response. We developed a method that uses a fiber optic probe to directly measure hypoxia in both standard cell culture media and in three-dimensional Matrigel-embedded cell models. This provides minimally invasive measurement of absolute values of oxygen pressure at various locations within a cell over time. The probe recorded the oxygen concentration and temperature of Lung, Breast, and GBM cancer cell lines across seven days. All cell cultures showed an increase in oxygen demand over time. However, in different TMEs, the oxygen concentration and consequently demand were different. Our findings provide critical insight regarding the dynamics between oxygen and spatial distribution, time, and ultimately the tumor microenvironment. Exploring hypoxia in the tumor microenvironment shifts the discussion surrounding cancer from broad therapies to microenvironment specific treatment.