| NSF Org: |
CMMI Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | September 19, 2012 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | September 19, 2012 |
| Award Number: | 1233827 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Alexis Lewis
alewis@nsf.gov (703)292-2624 CMMI Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation ENG Directorate for Engineering |
| Start Date: | October 1, 2012 |
| End Date: | June 30, 2017 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $400,002.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $400,002.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
341 PINE TREE RD ITHACA NY US 14850-2820 (607)255-5014 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
526 Campus Road, 302 Weill Hall Ithaca NY US 14853-7202 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | MATERIALS AND SURFACE ENG |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.041 |
ABSTRACT
The primary objective of this NSF-NCI Physical and Engineering Sciences in Oncology (PESO) joint research project is to elucidate the mechanism that is responsible for metastasis and the leader-follower cell dynamics that emerge during metastatic invasion. Of the 7.9 million cancer-related fatalities reported every year worldwide, over 90 percent are believed to be the result of metastatic disease, in which a subset of cells from the original tumor spread throughout the body. The physical mechanisms employed by metastatic cancer cells to invade remain poorly understood. During metastasis, cells from the primary tumor acquire characteristics that enable them to escape and migrate through a mechanically and chemically heterogeneous stromal environment to establish secondary tumors. As cells migrate, they remodel the matrix by both degrading it and by using mechanical force to physically move fibers from their path. Data suggest that degradation and remodeling of the extracellular matrix by "leader" cells enables the escape of additional cells from the primary tumor, termed "follower" cells. In this project, the PI and collaborators will use tailored materials, microfabricated structures and approaches from cell and molecular biology to re-create the leader-follower dynamics found in vivo and probe the underlying mechanisms guiding leader-follower migration. The two major educational goals in this project are to bring tissue engineering to the elementary and middle school classroom, and to incorporate undergraduate students from primarily 4-year, undergraduate schools in research. The work will integrate the major research themes in this project into an inquiry-based, hands-on module that builds off of the PI's previous work with the Ithaca Sciencenter, a local "please-touch" children's science museum.
The intellectual merits of this project are the creation of a novel, microfabricated platform to study cell invasion and the identification of the molecular mechanisms guiding the metastatic migration of cells. The broader impacts of this prject are the design and implementation of a workshop for grade school children on cell migration that will involve graduate and undergraduate students in the design and implementation of the workshop.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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