This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (CFDA 47.049) program provides $380,000 to support a joint experiment-theory project focused on developing quantitative models of eukaryotic cell motility. The research aims to deepen understanding of how cells utilize "blebbing" and nucleus deformation to enable movement through complex environments, with implications for both healthy developmental processes and metastatic cancer. The project brings together principal investigators from Northeastern University in the U.S. and the École Normale Supérieure in France, who will collaborate on computational modeling efforts and conduct experimental studies using microstructures to investigate cell mechanics and morphology during motility. The award period runs from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2028 and includes a component for training students in this highly interdisciplinary research area as well as facilitating scientific exchanges between the U.S. and French teams.
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