Matt Barnes, Ph.D. earned his undergraduate degree in Microbiology at Idaho State University. He then moved to the University of Iowa to pursue his doctorate in Molecular Physiology and Biophysics under the mentorship of Dr. Michael Henry. Dr Barnes's graduate research focused on the effects of cell-extracellular matrix interactions on cancer cell migration, metastasis, and survival. He also developed a microfluidic model to study cancer cell behavior under conditions of hemodynamic shear stress. Dr. Barnes came to Dr. Valerie Weaver's lab in 2011 and is currently evaluating changes that occur in the brain microenvironment during glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) progression. Specifically, he is investigating the interplay between mechanical forces and glioblastoma GBM malignancy. This work employs various transgenic mouse models of GBM and two-photon microscopy, which can be used to visualize cancer cell behavior in living animals. Dr Barnes's interests outside of lab include outdoor activities, food, and movies