The American Cancer Society says that over 30,000 deaths were caused by liver cancer in 2019. While seeking a solution for liver cancer, Florida Tech researcher Kunal Mitra 3D printed cancerous liver tissue samples and attempted to remove cancer from them using pulse lasers.

Researchers often use animals with cancer or inject them with cancer cells for testing, which is an expensive and controversial practice. 3D bioprinting cancerous samples would be a cost-effective, efficient, and humane way to test cancer cells. Mitra hopes his findings will lead to researchers using 3D printed cancerous samples for drug testing.

• Debasis Mitra