Grant Award Summary

The University of Washington received a $273,875 Project Grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855), awarded May 1, 2026, with completion targeted for April 30, 2028. The project will develop a vessel-on-a-chip (VOC) platform to investigate schistosome egg-induced endothelial remodeling and macrophage polarization. This advanced in vitro model mimics key features of the human vascular microenvironment, including physiologic flow, endothelial-macrophage co-culture, and controlled delivery of egg-secreted products (ESP), to address gaps in current research models for understanding schistosomiasis pathogenesis.

The deliverables include: (1) engineering a perfusable microvascular network integrated with tunable hydrogel microspheres and live eggs to identify biomechanical and biochemical drivers of vascular endothelial cell (VEC) remodeling; (2) assessing how ESP-activated VECs influence macrophage polarization through evaluation of M2 polarization markers, cytokine secretion, and migration phenotypes; and (3) establishing a standardized platform for antifibrotic drug discovery. The research will employ pharmacologic pathway inhibition targeting NF-κB, NOTCH4-DLL, and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) to clarify their contributions to endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT) and immune-endothelial crosstalk, ultimately advancing understanding of granuloma formation and fibrosis in schistosomiasis, which affects over 200 million people worldwide.