Project Grant K99HD120652

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development awarded the University of California, Santa Barbara $123,957 on September 1, 2026, under the Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research Projects program (CFDA 93.865) for research into how mechanical forces coordinate cell movements during vertebrate gastrulation, specifically examining the Spemann-Mangold organizer's role in establishing germ layers and embryonic axes.

The funded research develops and applies quantitative imaging and computational methods to analyze three-dimensional tissue flows during zebrafish gastrulation. The project employs an imaging pipeline that extracts and maps 3D tissue surfaces into 2D projections, enabling measurement of tissue-specific flows across distinct extraembryonic and embryonic layers. The research addresses three primary aims: quantitatively defining large-scale tissue flows that establish germ layers and axes; investigating how cytoskeletal proteins, particularly myosin activity, orchestrate coordinated fluid-like flows required for body plan formation; and testing how signaling gradients establish mechanical feedback mechanisms driving convergent extension flows. The investigator will use optogenetic perturbations to ectopically pattern organizer gradients, such as BMP, to establish a modern quantitative framework for understanding vertebrate morphogenesis.

The award carries a period of performance from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2028, with work performed in California. The funding is classified as a Project Grant, a component of NIH's legacy Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research program.