Federal Project Grant Award Summary

Award Details: Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station received $394,917 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859) on July 15, 2026, with completion targeted for March 31, 2031.

Products and Services: This Project Grant funds the development of advanced label-free microscopy tools and analytical methods to establish quantitative relationships between cellular cytoskeletal structure and mechanobiological properties. The research employs holotomography (HT)—a three-dimensional optical imaging platform capable of generating protein mass density maps at approximately 200 nanometer resolution—as a non-destructive, non-contact alternative to traditional fluorescent labeling and mechanical cell probing methods. The principal deliverable involves correlating HT-generated three-dimensional cellular tomograms with specific cytoskeletal structures and emergent mechanical properties such as cell viscoelasticity. By validating this label-free imaging approach through integration with complementary microscopy techniques, the project removes the requirement for exogenous dyes or mechanical perturbation during cellular characterization, thereby enabling long-term mechanobiology studies on live, undamaged cells. The research addresses fundamental biological understanding of force transmission mechanisms and has potential applications in therapeutic development targeting cytoskeletal structures.