Dr Randall on the Value of Collaborating With Biomedical Engineers to Develop Preclinical Sarcoma Models

"What I found most intriguing in my time here at UC Davis is the strength of the engineering group, and we, as oncologists, we don't tend to rub elbows with. We can potentially partner around some of these diseases to build models to answer some really profound questions in terms of therapy."

R. Lor Randall, MD, FACS, the David Linn Endowed Chair for Orthopedic Surgery, chair of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, and professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the University of California (UC) Davis Health, emphasized the value of interdisciplinary collaboration between oncologists and biomedical engineers to develop preclinical models that address key questions in cancer therapy, particularly in the sarcoma realm.

Traditionally, oncologists collaborate most frequently with molecular biologists, epidemiologists, and other specialists within the biological sciences, Randall explained. These relationships are essential for exploring disease mechanisms and clinical patterns, but Randall highlighted that biomedical engineers bring a complementary skill set grounded in applied sciences. Their training equips them to conceptualize and construct physical and computational models that simulate biological systems, offering new avenues to investigate therapeutic efficacy, tumor biomechanics, drug delivery systems, and resistance mechanisms.

At UC Davis, Randall noted the strength of the engineering faculty and the growing potential for collaboration in building and testing cancer models. Biomedical engineers can assist in designing advanced three-dimensional tissue constructs, organ-on-chip systems, and other physiologically relevant platforms that mimic the tumor microenvironment more closely than traditional in vitro or animal models. These systems enable more precise interrogation of drug responses and may inform patient-specific treatment strategies.

Randall encouraged oncologists within academic medical centers to identify and engage with their local biomedical engineering departments. Such partnerships could be mutually beneficial by leveraging oncologists’ clinical insight and access to patient-derived samples with engineers’ expertise in systems design, materials science, and computational modeling. He suggested that these collaborations are especially well-suited for diseases requiring refined modeling systems, such as sarcomas and other rare cancers, where clinical trial data are sparse. Through co-development of experimental platforms, oncologists and engineers can explore novel hypotheses in therapy resistance, biomarker development, and treatment optimization.