How cells move along aligned fibers in 3-D tissue
Official title: Directed Cell Motility Along Gradients in Extracellular Matrix Fiber Alignment
Funded at Rochester Institute of Technology · NIH-11137800 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how cancer, immune, and blood-vessel cells pick directions when surrounded by aligned fibers and chemical signals in a 3-D tissue-like environment.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Rochester Institute of Technology NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Rochester, United States) |
| Project start | August 10, 2022 |
| Project end | June 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $185,000 |
| NIH project number | 5R16GM146687-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11137800 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
This is preclinical laboratory research using cell models and does not enroll patients or healthy volunteers.
✕Less likely to help
Patients should not expect direct or immediate benefit because the grant supports basic lab studies rather than a clinical treatment.
What this research studies
Researchers will build a lab model that mimics 3-D tissue by creating collagen gels with controlled fiber alignment and chemical gradients. They will expose cancer, immune, and endothelial cells to combinations of physical alignment cues and soluble biochemical signals to track migration patterns. The platform uses microengineering to tune alignment landscapes and deliver precise biochemical gradients so cell responses to simultaneous cues can be measured. Learning which cues dominate in guiding movement may help explain processes like tumor spread or immune cell recruitment.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to new ways to block cancer spread or improve delivery of therapeutic immune cells by revealing how cells decide where to move.
How similar studies have gone: Prior studies show that both biochemical gradients and matrix alignment can guide migration, but combining and ranking these cues in a controlled 3-D setting is largely novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Abhyankar, Vinay V — Rochester Institute of Technology
- Study coordinator: Abhyankar, Vinay V
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.