Federal Grant Award Summary

The University of Southern California received a $656,500 Project Grant award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859), effective April 1, 2026 through January 31, 2031. The award supports research to develop and apply innovative technologies for controlling cell differentiation and patterning in multicellular development, using a multilayered arterial wall as a case study. The research addresses fundamental questions about how mammalian cells integrate various biological inputs to generate complex spatial arrangements of differentiated cell types in tissues and organs.

The project encompasses two primary research tracks. The first involves developing new technologies for three-dimensional (3D) differentiation control, including methods to create defined-thickness cellular layers around spherical or thread-like scaffolds to model organs with radial symmetry (such as blood vessels, liver, and skin) and autonomous patterning genetic circuits to generate two-dimensional (2D) and 3D gene expression patterns. The second track focuses on studying and controlling cell-to-cell communication between differentiating endothelial and vascular support cells using patterned synthetic signaling systems. These deliverables build upon synthetic genetic networks previously developed by the laboratory to reconstruct complex multicellular arrangements and advance understanding of developmental biology applicable to addressing congenital disorders and adult diseases.