Project Grant R01CA196018

This three-year, $681,444 National Science Foundation project grant supports collaborative research to develop tumor-mimetic collagen hydrogels for testing the role of structural cues on cancer cell migration. The Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems awarded the funding under the Engineering program (CFDA 47.041), which aims to foster innovation and excellence in engineering research. The Rochester Institute of Technology will receive the award to create a...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Biological Sciences program project grant, awarded to Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), aims to uncover the underlying biophysical mechanisms of directed cell migration. The $1,049,497 grant, with a period of performance from January 2024 to December 2027, will examine how actin cytoskeletal networks and adhesion receptors interact as interdependent subsystems to facilitate matrix-guided cell migration, which is crucial for tissue formation and...

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a 5-year, $539,532 CAREER (Faculty Early Career Development) grant to the University of Illinois to research predictive multiscale modeling of cell migration through pores between endothelial cells. The project will study the biomechanics and mechanobiology of transendothelial migration for three cell types: red blood cells, neutrophils, and tumor cells. Advanced computer simulations will be used to predict how different cell components affect the...

This Project Grant award, provided by the National Science Foundation's Mathematical and Physical Sciences (CFDA 47.049) program, supports collaborative research between Indiana University Indianapolis and Purdue University to develop a novel multi-scale 3D mathematical model to simulate cell migration. The $200,000 award will enable the researchers to integrate experimentally measured intracellular tension data into the model to better understand how external environmental factors, such as...

This Project Grant award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Biomedical Research and Research Training Program (CFDA 93.859) provides $395,387 to support research on the molecular mechanisms driving fast amoeboid cell migration. The award aims to deconstructing this poorly understood, three-dimensional migration mode that is commonly used by invasive cancer cells. Over the next 5 years, the research will focus on understanding the cortical actin architectures,...

This Project Grant award, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CFDA 47.070) program, supports the development of an engineered cyber-physical system that combines advanced biological models with artificial intelligence methods to enable real-time, predictive precision medicine for cancer treatment. The $275,956 award to the University of Massachusetts Lowell aims to create a multi-organ-on-a-chip platform that can...

This federal Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.396 - Cancer Biology Research) to the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research provides $577,034 in funding to investigate the interplay between the physical properties of the tumor microenvironment and the ability of cytotoxic lymphocytes to recognize and destroy cancer cells. The research will examine how distinct metastatic microenvironments (e.g. rigid bone, soft lung) affect the biomechanics of cancer cells...

This $544,475 Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.396 - Cancer Biology Research) aims to develop an in vitro cancer metastasis model system using decellularized organ-specific tissue (biomatrices) to study organ-specific cancer metastasis. The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, the awardee, hypothesizes that the biomatrices can recapitulate the organ microenvironment and enable the growth of organ-specific tumor colonies, which can be used to investigate...

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) awarded a 5-year, $479,487 Project Grant (CFDA 93.859 - Biomedical Research and Research Training) to The Johns Hopkins University to investigate how key physical cues such as extracellular fluid viscosity, stiffness, and confinement regulate cell responses, including cell migration, a fundamental biological process with implications for diverse (patho)physiological events like embryonic development, immune response, and disease...

This National Science Foundation Project Grant of $606,649 will support the development of an engineered cyber-physical system combining advanced biological models and artificial intelligence methods to enable precision medicine for cancer treatment. Awarded under the Computer and Information Science and Engineering program, the funding will be used by Brigham and Women's Hospital and its parent organization Partners Healthcare System from October 2022 to September 2025. Specifically, the...