Separating cells by how strongly they contract to help understand cancer and heart disease
Official title: Sorting and characterization of mechanically heterogeneous cell populations based on cellular contractility
Funded at University of Arkansas at Fayetteville · NIH-11140434 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers separate cells by how strongly they pull and squeeze to find links to breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, and aging.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Arkansas at Fayetteville NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Fayetteville, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2023 |
| Project end | July 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $182,290 |
| NIH project number | 5R21EB034930-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11140434 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal contributors would be patients willing to donate tissue or tumor samples (for example, from breast cancer surgery or cardiovascular procedures) for lab analysis.
✕Less likely to help
Patients looking for immediate treatments or hoping to receive a new drug directly from this project are unlikely to gain direct clinical benefit from this lab-based research.
What this research studies
The team will sort adherent cells into groups that differ in how strongly they contract, using lab tools that measure cell pulling forces. Each group will be compared for movement, gene activity, and responses to drugs or stress. Work will use cell lines and models related to breast cancer and cardiovascular disease and may include patient-derived samples. The goal is to learn whether mechanical differences in cells predict disease behavior or treatment resistance.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to new therapies that target mechanically aggressive cells to reduce spread or treatment resistance.
How similar studies have gone: Sorting cells by mechanical properties is a relatively new approach with promising laboratory findings but limited direct clinical results so far.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
Fayetteville, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Zhang, Jian — University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
- Study coordinator: Zhang, Jian
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.