A. J. Crawford

A 3D in vitro assay to study combined immune cell infiltration and cytotoxicity

This paper introduces a 3D in vitro assay to study immune cell infiltration and cytotoxicity in solid tumors, showing it captures key steps of immune cell interaction with the tumor microenvironment.

Honoring the Afro-Colombian musical culture with the naming of Epipedobates currulao sp. nov. (Anura: Dendrobatidae), a frog from the Pacific rainforests

This paper describes a new frog species, Epipedobates currulao, named after a Colombian musical genre, and provides morphological, acoustic, and genetic distinctions from related species.

Precision-engineered biomimetics: the human fallopian tube

The paper develops a precision-engineered multi-compartment organoid model of the human fallopian tube validated against a 3D single-cell reference map.

Serine synthesis pathway upregulated by E-cadherin is essential for the proliferation and metastasis of breast cancers

This study shows that E-cadherin upregulates the serine synthesis pathway in breast cancer cells, supporting proliferation and metastasis by providing metabolic precursors and resistance to oxidative stress.

Tumor proliferation and invasion are coupled through cell-extracellular matrix friction

This study shows tumor proliferation and invasion are linked through cell-ECM friction, using in vitro and computational models to demonstrate the role of E-cadherin and matrix properties.

Epistatic effects between amino acid insertions and substitutions mediate toxin-resistance of vertebrate Na+,K+-ATPases

The paper shows how amino acid insertions and substitutions in Na+,K+-ATPase affect toxin resistance in different vertebrate lineages through epistatic interactions.

Constraints on the evolution of toxin-resistant Na,K-ATPases have limited dependence on sequence divergence

The paper investigates how intramolecular epistasis affects the evolution of CTS-resistant Na,K-ATPases, finding that resistance substitutions have pleiotropic effects independent of sequence divergence.

E-cadherin interacts with EGFR resulting in hyper-activation of ERK in multiple models of breast cancer

This study shows E-cadherin interacts with EGFR to hyper-activate ERK, promoting proliferation in breast cancer models and identifying a potential therapeutic target.

Concerted evolution reveals co-adapted amino acid substitutions in Na+K+-ATPase of frogs that prey on toxic toads

The paper shows that selection maintains adaptive division-of-labor between tandem duplicates of ATP1A1 in frogs, countering gene conversion to confer toxin resistance.

Synthesis of geological and comparative phylogeographic data point to climate, not mountain uplift, as driver of divergence across the Eastern Andean Cordillera

The paper evaluates the role of Andean uplift versus climate in driving divergence of tetrapod lineages, finding divergence times too recent and asynchronous to support uplift as a primary driver.

How to make a rodent giant: Genomic basis and tradeoffs of gigantism in the capybara, the world’s largest rodent

This study sequenced the capybara genome to investigate the genetic basis of gigantism and related tradeoffs, finding elevated mutation load and novel anticancer mechanisms.