Dr Samantha Stehbens
Dr Sam Stehbens’ 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..
Her research program integrates engineered materials and devices with high resolution, state of the art microscopy to discover and target biomechanical processes as therapeutic opportunities in cancer. This work is inherently interdisciplinary, drawing on collaborations with optical physicists, developmental and computational biologists, mathematicians, hospital clinicians and materials chemists, both internationally and within UQ. Her team's research sits at an exciting frontier between human health and fundamental cell biology, complements AIBN’s strengths in materials, diagnostics and mechanobiology, and has the potential to significantly advance understanding of metastatic disease.
Collaborations
Positioned between AIBN and IMB, Dr Sam Stehbens and her team have combined 3D ex-vivo tumour models with tuneable, biomimetic materials approaches (Prof Alan 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
QUANTIC Queensland Advanced Non-Linear Tissue-biomaterials Imaging Capacity (2026)
Australian Research Council Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities (LEIF LE260100152)
Understanding how cells withstand compression in crowded environments (2026-2029)
Australian Research Council Discovery Project A platform for in situ structural biology (Monash led)(2025)
Australian Research Council Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities (LEIF LE250100012)
Understanding microtubule-dependent cell invasion to develop antimetastasis strategies. (2025-2029)
NHMRC Ideas Grant 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
Key Publications
Compression-dependent microtubule reinforcement enables cells to navigate confined environments. Robert J Ju, Alistair D Falconer, Christanny J Schmidt, Marco A Enriquez Martinez, Kevin M Dean, Reto P Fiolka, David P Sester, Max Nobis, Paul Timpson, Alexis J Lomakin, Gaudenz Danuser, Melanie D White, Nikolas K Haass, Dietmar B Oelz, Samantha J Stehbens. Nature Cell Biology 2024
Tuning collagen nonlinear mechanics with interpenetrating networks drives adaptive cellular phenotypes in three dimensions. Marco A Enriquez Martinez*, Zhao Wang, Yanina D Alvarez, Jade E O’Neill, Robert J Ju, Petri Turunen, Melanie D White, Jitendra Mata, Elliot P Gilbert, Jan Lauko, Alan E Rowan*, & Samantha J Stehbens* (*Corresponding Authors) Science Advances 2025
Mechanical confinement induces ferroptosis through mitochondrial dysfunction. Fang Zhou, Robert J Ju, Chenlu Kang, Jiayi Li, Ao Yang, Alexandre Libert, Yujie Sun, Ling Liang, Youwei Ai, Xiaoqing Hu*, Samantha J Stehbens*, Congying Wu* (*Corresponding Authors) Nature Communications 2025
CLASPs link focal-adhesion-associated microtubule capture to localized exocytosis and adhesion site turnover. Samantha J Stehbens, Matthew Paszek, Hayley Pemble, Andreas Ettinger, Sarah Gierke, Torsten Wittmann. Nature Cell Biology 2014
Microtubule control of migration: Coordination in confinement. Christanny J Schmidt, Samantha J Stehbens Current Opinion in Cell Biology 2024