Our research aims to understand the fundamental principles underpinning how cells integrate chemical and physical signals from their local microenvironment to facilitate cell movement and survival.
Dr Stehbens is a cell biologist with a long-standing interest in understanding the fundamental mechanisms that regulate cell adhesion and the cytoskeleton. She has made key contributions to the fields of quantitative microscopy, cell motility, adhesion and the cytoskeleton with publications spanning multiple fields from ion channels in brain cancer, to growth factor signalling and autophagy. Her research group (joint between AIBN and IMB) aims to understand the fundamental principles of how cells integrate secreted and biomechanical signals from their local microenvironment to facilitate movement and survival. They have uncovered an entirely novel role for the microtubule cytoskeleton in protecting cells from cortical and nuclear rupture during cell migration in 3D cell migration and invasion. Using patient-derived tumour cells, coupled to genetic alteration and substrate microfabrication, they use state-of-the-art microscopy to understand the mechanisms of cell migratory behaviour required for cancer cells to traverse the body during metastasis.
Collaborations
Positioned between AIBN and IMB, we have combined our 3D ex-vivo tumour models with tuneable, biomimetic materials approaches (Rowan lab AIBN), and powerful in-vivo zebrafish (Lagendijk lab IMB) and avian xenograft (White Lab IMB) models to better understand the biophysical influence of the microenvironment during metastatic invasion. This is complemented by enduring interdisciplinary collaborative research with optical physicists, and computational biologists, at UT Southwestern (Texas), and nationally with UQ biological mathematicians (Dr D.Oelz), Garvan cancer biologists (Timpson Lab), and PA Hospital clinicians (A/Prof Mark Pinkham).
Funding
Discovering therapeutic vulnerabilities of circulating melanoma clusters (2024–2027) United States Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs - Melanoma Research Program Integrating innovative models of the brain microenvironment to identify new treatment strategies for medulloblastoma (2023–2024) The Cure Starts Now Foundation Integrating innovative models of the brain microenvironment to identify new treatment strategies for medulloblastoma (2022–2026) The Cure Starts Now Australia Microenvironmental regulation of melanoma brain metastasis (2022–2025) United States Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs - Melanoma Research Program Integrating innovative models of the brain microenvironment to identify new treatment strategies for medulloblastoma (2020–2024) Brainchild Foundation Regulation of 3D Cell Migration by Microtubule-Dependent Processes (2020–2023) ARC Future Fellowships How does melanoma sense the tumour environment? (2019) UQ Early Career Researcher Improving outcomes for patients with melanoma brain metastases using novel personalised and response-adapted treatment strategies (PARF Translation Research Innovation Award administered by MSHHS) (2018–2022) Metro South Hospital and Health Service How do microtubules control melanoma invasion? (2018–2020) RL Cooper Medical Research Foundation Limited
Key Publications
Ju, RJ, Falconer, A, Dean, KM, Fiolka, RP, Sester, DP, Nobis , M, Timpson , P, Danuser, G, Lomakin, AJ, White, MD, Haass NK, Oelz D & Stehbens SJ ’Compression-dependent microtubule reinforcement comprises a mechanostat which enables cells to navigate confined environments’, 2023 doi10.1101/2022.02.08.479516 BioRxiv, Accepted 2024, Nature Cell Biology 2024
Stehbens, S.J., Paszek, M., Pemble, H., Ettinger, A., Gierke, S. & Wittmann, T. 2014, ‘CLASPs link focal-adhesion-associated microtubule capture to localized exocytosis and adhesion site turnover’, Nature Cell Biology, 2014
Ratheesh, A., Gomez, G.A., Priya, R., Verma, S., Kovacs, E.M., Jiang, K., Brown, N.H., Akhmanova, A., Stehbens, S.J. & Yap, A.S. 2012, ‘Centralspindlin and alpha-catenin regulate Rho signalling at the epithelial zonula adherens’, Nature Cell Biology
Kenific, C.M., Stehbens, S.J., Goldsmith, J., Leidal, A.M., Faure, N., Ye, J., Wittmann, T. & Debnath, J. 2016, ‘NBR 1 enables autophagy-dependent focal adhesion turnover’, Journal of Cell Biology
Schmidt, Christanny J. & Stehbens, Samantha J. 2024, ‘Microtubule control of migration: Coordination in confinement’, Current Opinion in Cell Biology