NIH awards researchers $11.5 million

team of biomedical engineers at the University has received an $11.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to conduct a series of studies to learn more about how white blood cells interact in the body. The five-year project takes aim at fundamental processes such as how mechanical forces govern white blood cells and assure they offer protection from invaders like the flu.

The group is focusing on white blood cells known as neutrophils, the body's first responders to inflammation and infection, and how those cells interact with the blood vessel lining known as the endothelium.

"This is your first line of defense against disease," says Richard Waugh, chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering and leader of the team of engineers and scientists who received the grant. "Some of the biggest health problems that people face result from inappropriate responses of white blood cells. Understanding the details of our defenses, at the level of the blood cell, is crucial for developing new treatments and for controlling inappropriate immune responses."

The Rochester team has shown how physical forces and patterns of blood flow are crucial to the underlying process. Understanding how forces affect white blood cells may offer a new way to fight many autoimmune diseases like diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and lupus.

The grant will fund projects headed by five scientists. In addition to Waugh, leading projects at Rochester are Ingrid Sarelius, professor of pharmacology and physiology; Michael King, assistant professor of biomedical engineering; Philip Knauf, professor of biochemistry and biophysics; and Daniel Hammer of the University of Pennsylvania.

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