Project Grant 2344129

This $483,492 Project Grant awarded by the National Science Foundation's Engineering program to the University of Maryland, College Park, aims to develop biomaterial tools for investigating how extracellular matrix (ECM) ligands influence the function of macrophage immune cells. The 5-year project will leverage polyethylene glycol-based biomaterials with known peptide-derived ECM ligands to quantify the impact of ECM ligand-integrin receptor interactions on macrophage activation. The research objectives include: 1) quantifying how ECM ligands from collagen, laminin, and fibronectin direct macrophage activation, 2) designing combinatorial ECM ligand biomaterials to assess ECM niche effects on macrophage function, and 3) evaluating the influence of donor age on human macrophage function using the combinatorial ECM ligand biomaterials. By creating these novel biomaterial tools, the project seeks to advance the fundamental understanding of how ECM composition regulates macrophage behavior, which is critical for controlling tissue homeostasis, wound healing, and regeneration.