The National Science Foundation awarded a $595,104 Project Grant to the University of Maryland, College Park under the Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) to support research on integrated experimental and computational models of brain microvascular endothelial cell glucose metabolism and transport from September 1, 2022 to August 31, 2025.
The award will fund the development of new experimental and computational models to study how decreased membrane cholesterol affects brain microvascular endothelial cell glucose metabolism and transport. Researchers will conduct experiments and analyze results using computer models to understand how cholesterol changes the way brain blood vessels pass glucose into the brain. The project aims to provide new insight into the mechanistic link between cholesterol and glucose transport, which could help elucidate the role of cholesterol in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's.