Biomaterial tools to understand how sex and hormones affect tissue healing
Biomaterial technologies for interrogating sex differences in tissue repair and homeostasis
['FUNDING_OTHER'] · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · NIH-11179258
This work builds lab-grown tissue-like materials to learn how biological sex and hormone changes (like menopause) change healing for people with bone, joint, heart, or brain damage.
Quick facts
| Phase | ['FUNDING_OTHER'] |
|---|---|
| Study type | Nih_funding |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON (nih funded) |
| Locations | 1 site (SEATTLE, UNITED STATES) |
| Trial ID | NIH-11179258 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this research studies
From your point of view, researchers are making engineered materials that copy the structure and stiffness of different body tissues so they can watch how cells from males and females behave. They will change hormone levels, especially estrogen, and measure how cells grow, repair, and communicate inside these materials. The team will compare tissue architecture and mechanical cues to see why aging and menopause make healing worse for many women. Most work is lab-based using tissue models and samples rather than tests on patients, but findings could guide future patient-focused treatments.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People most relevant to this work would include postmenopausal women and individuals with degenerative conditions like osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, or age-related cardiovascular or brain tissue decline.
Not a fit: Young, healthy people without hormone-related tissue repair problems may not see direct benefit from this basic lab research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could lead to therapies or personalized repair strategies that better help people—especially postmenopausal women—heal damaged bone, joint, heart, or brain tissue.
How similar studies have performed: Previous studies have shown hormones affect tissue repair, but combining engineered biomaterials with mechanical and estrogen signaling experiments to explain sex differences is a relatively new and emerging approach.
Where this research is happening
SEATTLE, UNITED STATES
- UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON — SEATTLE, UNITED STATES (ACTIVE)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: ROBINSON, JENNIFER LINDSEY — UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- Study coordinator: ROBINSON, JENNIFER LINDSEY
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Conditions: Brain Diseases, Brain Disorders, Cardiovascular Diseases