COLLEGE STATION, Texas, August 17, 2009 – A team of researchers led by Juergen Hahn, assistant professor in Texas A&M University’s Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, has been awarded a $1.4 million grant by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
The team also includes two other chemical engineering assistant professors from Texas A&M, Arul Jayaraman and Carl Laird, and Martin L. Yarmush of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. Their research will focus on the development of a new computational framework that will enable investigation of the role of cell populations on signal transduction.
Signal transduction pathways, Hahn says, play a key role in many cellular functions as well as intercellular communication. One specific example highlighting the importance of signal transduction and how it is affected by cell population is stem cell differentiation. The resulting cell type is affected by the cell population and intercellular communication that activates different signal transduction pathways, he explains.
Currently, only limited non-invasive measurement capabilities are available for observing intracellular signals, Hahn notes, but this new research effort will address this point. The work will integrate mathematical, computational and experimental approaches to determine information about intracellular components of individual cells. This information will then be used to develop improved models of signal transduction pathways, Hahn says.
The grant is part of NSF’s “Cyber-Enabled Discovery and Innovation” effort – a five-year initiative to create revolutionary science and engineering research outcomes made possible by innovations and advances in computational thinking. The research outcomes from this initiative are expected to increase understanding of a wide range of science and engineering phenomena and socio-technical innovations that create new wealth and enhance the national quality of life.
