Project Grant R35GM166254

Award Summary

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) awarded a Project Grant of $432,844 to The Research Foundation for the State University of New York (RF SUNY), administered through its Sponsored Projects Services division, under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859). The award, dated July 10, 2026, funds a research initiative titled "Biophysical Regulation of Macrophages Through Engineered Material Platforms" with performance in Buffalo, NY, extending through March 31, 2031. The research develops innovative biomaterial platforms and investigative tools to elucidate how mechanical properties in the cellular microenvironment—including stiffness, spatial geometry, viscoelasticity, and intracellular forces—regulate macrophage function and polarization states relevant to inflammation, tissue repair, fibrosis, and cancer.

The research delivers three primary technical innovations: (1) curvature-engineered platforms spanning fibril- to tissue-scale geometries to dissect cytoskeletal organization and transcriptional pathways; (2) viscoelastic hydrogels under cyclic loading to identify mechanical "tipping points" between regenerative and fibrotic macrophage polarization; and (3) intracellular nanomaterial actuators to test direct cytoskeletal force effects on inflammatory and fibrotic gene expression. These engineered platforms serve dual purposes as foundational research tools to establish mechanoimmunology principles and as translational blueprints for potential therapeutics—including fibrosis-suppressing scaffolds, wound-healing-accelerating implants, and chronic inflammation modulators. Outputs are benchmarked against macrophage states from in vivo injury and fibrotic datasets to ensure physiologic relevance and translational applicability.