New Jersey Institute of Technology received a $553,292 Project Grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) under the Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders (CFDA 93.853) program, with an award date of March 11, 2026 and completion date of February 28, 2029. The project delivers research and development of a three-dimensional (3D) in vitro tissue construct system designed to study axonal growth and peripheral nerve regeneration. The research addresses the clinical limitations of autologous nerve transplantation for peripheral nerve injuries (PNI), which affect over twenty million individuals in the United States and carry risks including donor-site morbidity and neuroma formation.
The project produces deliverables across three specific aims: engineering 3D hollow channel systems seeded with embryonic dorsal root ganglia (DRG) explants and Schwann cells to evaluate axonal growth support in real-time; developing a pre-clinical drug discovery model using various pharmaceutical compounds, particularly nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), to enhance axonal growth and calcium signaling; and conducting mechanistic studies through gain-of-function and loss-of-function experiments to confirm the targeted effects of NSAIDs. The resulting tissue construct platform and drug screening data support the long-term objective of developing clinically relevant strategies to stimulate targeted repair of longer peripheral nerve injuries.