Project Grant R01HL183597

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute awarded New York University $836,736 on September 1, 2026, under the Cardiovascular Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.837) to investigate endothelial mechanosensing of circulatory flow in health and disease. The project will examine how endothelial cells lining blood and lymphatic vessels respond to fluid flow forces, with focus on the roles of PLXND1 (a transmembrane semaphorin receptor) and KLF2 (a transcription factor) in endothelial responses to fluid shear stress during vascular development. The research will employ a CRISPR screen to identify new factors involved in endothelial mechanobiology and will leverage zebrafish embryos and human-cultured endothelial cells as models. The work will address three key questions: which parts of PLXND1 sense fluid forces and direct blood vessel growth, what factors interact with KLF2 to regulate endothelial cell size, and how PLXND1 mechanosensing supports lymphatic system development. Performance occurs in New York, NY, with a period of performance through May 31, 2030. This is a project grant, an assistance type typical of NIH competitive research funding.