Sigma Xi is the honor society of research scientists and engineers. It is an international multidisciplinary group whose programs and activities promote the health of the scientific enterprise, reward excellence in scientific research and encourage a sense of companionship and cooperation among scientists in all fields.
For more information, please visit https://www.sigmaxi.org/
2025 Rudy Ruggles STEM Interdisciplinary Research Award Competition I Deadline: 31 March (download information here)
Register to attend the 2024-2025 Rudy Ruggles STEM Interdisciplinary Research Award Recipients & Learn About 2025 Winners (download flyer here)
2024 – 25 Rudy Ruggles Research Award Winners
Julia Linke, Dr Jain (SigmaXi member-Harvard Chapter), Dr. Dude and Dr. Munn at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital
Dissecting the effects of mechanical stress on immunosuppression in glioblastoma
“Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is one of the most aggressive, malignant brain cancers, and has a median patient survival of less than 15 months. GBM is highly refractory to most available treatment strategies, which has been attributed to its highly immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). The TME is impacted by increased mechanical stresses, that arise as the GBM tumor grows in the space confined by the skull, but the precise involved molecular pathways are unknown. To identify new biomarkers for the GBM cancer progression due to mechanical stress, the winners of this year’s award cultured in vitro glioblastoma cancer cell lines under increased mechanical stresses. They isolated RNA material from these cells and sequenced for their bulk transcriptomics signatures. This allowed analysis of which genes are upregulated due to the increased mechanical stress in these cancer cells, and observing that distinct glioblastoma cell types react differently to the same mechanical stimulus.”