Kandice Tanner, Ph.D.

The Tanner Lab studies how the physical properties of tissues influence how cells behave during development, immune responses, and cancer. Our goal is to understand how cancer spreads through the body and how the surrounding tissue helps or prevents that process.

We are especially interested in how tumor cells move and settle in distant organs, a process called metastasis. Instead of thinking about tumors only as groups of abnormal cells, we study them as new, growing “organs” that interact with their surroundings. By watching individual cells inside living tissues, we can see how they move, communicate, and adapt to different environments.

Our research has shown that cells respond not only to chemical signals, but also to physical cues such as how stiff, soft, or fluid-like a tissue is. These mechanical properties can influence whether a cell stays in place, moves, or becomes more aggressive. We use advanced microscopes, custom-built instruments, and specially designed 3D materials that mimic real tissues to measure these effects.

To study these processes in living organisms, we use zebrafish, a small, transparent vertebrate that allows us to watch cancer cells and immune cells interact in real time. This model helps us understand why certain cancers tend to spread to specific organs and how the immune system and tissue environment influence that process.

Ultimately, our goal is to use this knowledge to develop better ways to prevent and treat metastatic cancer by targeting the physical and biological environment that tumor cells depend on.

Kandice Tanner received her Ph.D. in physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and completed postdoctoral training at the University of California, Irvine, and the University of California, Berkeley/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Her research combines cell biology, physics, and engineering to understand how the physical properties of tissues influence cancer progression, immune function, and development. Her laboratory develops advanced imaging tools, biomimetic materials, and in vivo models to study how cells sense mechanical cues and how these signals shape tumor growth and metastasis.

Dr. Tanner’s work has been recognized with major national and international honors, including the Max Planck–Humboldt Medal, the ASCB E. E. Just Award, the Arthur S. Flemming Award, and the Keith R. Porter Fellowship Award. She is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Society for Cell Biology. She has also served on the Board of Directors of the American Physical Society and has been elected to leadership roles in the American Society for Cell Biology and the Biophysical Society.