Project Grant R01HL187322

The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute awarded $655,564 to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on September 1, 2026, under the Cardiovascular Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.837) to develop SPARKS-DCM, a multiscale computational modeling framework that integrates biochemistry, biophysics, and biomechanics of blood clotting with experimental data to predict mechanisms of action for procoagulant agents in platelet integrin disorders such as Glanzmann's thrombasthenia.

The research addresses gaps in mechanistic understanding of how procoagulant agents such as recombinant activated Factor VII restore hemostasis when platelet transfusions are unavailable, particularly in cases of dysfunctional endogenous platelets. The modeling framework incorporates single-platelet-resolution modeling and on-platelet biochemistry validated against experimental work, enabling hypothesis generation and visualization that experimental approaches alone cannot achieve. Current treatment for severe bleeding in platelet integrin disorders remains largely empirical because the ability of deficient or dysfunctional platelets to adopt procoagulant phenotypes, the necessity of procoagulant platelets for therapeutic efficacy, and the interactions between integrin-deficient platelets and fibrin are poorly understood.

The award obligates $655,564 with a period of performance through May 31, 2030. Work is performed at Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The University of North Carolina System Office is the parent entity. This is a Project Grant, the standard assistance type for NIH R01 research awards.