Dr. Chantal Kopecky

Chantal obtained her PhD in Immunology (2015) at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria in the field of cardiovascular and lipoprotein biology in chronic kidney disease. After joining UNSW Sydney in 2016 she was investigating metabolic and inflammatory complications in diabetes and cardiovascular disease and in 2018, moved into the field of cancer research, where her work was focused on novel drug delivery systems and identifying metabolic targets in pancreatic cancer. Chantal has utilised 3D lightsheet fluorescence imaging in several projects including the visualisation of pathologic processes and immune cell involvement in atherosclerosis and characterisation of pancreatic tumour tissue morphology in intact tissues. Joining the Kilian lab in early 2021, Chantal is excited to start working on the development of 3D biomaterial models to mimic cancer microenvironments and establishing biomechanical properties of cancer cell plasticity in the context of melanoma.
contact: c.kopecky@unsw.edu.au

- Exploring molecular and mechanical mechanisms of melanoma progression in a controlled matrix environment
- Linking mechanical cell characteristics and adaptability to different cancer cell phenotypes