Emmanuel Asante-Asamani, Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Ginger Hunter, Assistant Professor of Biology have been awarded a $589,000 grant from the Joint National Science Foundation (NSF)/ National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Mathematical Biology Program to support their collaborative research efforts over the next three years to understand the formation of complex biological tissue patterns through long-range cell-cell signaling.
A major challenge for the organized development and homeostasis of tissues and organs is the correct spatial and temporal distribution of signaling molecules. Achieving a correct tissue organization is critical as defects in patterning can lead to human disorders and disease. This project will take both multiscale mathematical modeling and experimental approaches to investigate how the signaling receptor Notch is distributed and activated by active cell processes during lateral inhibition-mediated tissue patterning events.
The project will result in a foundational understanding of the mechanisms that drive long-range lateral inhibition during tissue patterning. We will introduce the first multiscale mechanical model of the fly dorsal thorax that allows for cell-driven dynamics of filopodia, real-time activation of Notch and tissue level patterning. The experimental work will address a major gap in our understanding of tissue development and homeostasis: how active cell processes contribute to the distribution and activation of signals.
The award will provide support for both graduate and undergraduate students from mathematics and biology to be trained in multiscale modeling, numerical simulation, quantitative developmental biology and genetics in both Asante-Asamani’s research group and Hunter’s Lab.
The award abstract can be found at
https://reporter.nih.gov/search/JhR4pUeo9EKPOMrXO6IBmA/project-details/10797357