# Quantitative 3D imaging of in situ nanoparticle movement and cellular behavior during neuroinflammation

> **NIH NIH R35** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2020 · $361,909

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Currently, the means to gather real-time molecular information from the diseased human brain
is limited, and high-throughput platforms that can assay neurological disease severity
representative of the in vivo environment are still lacking. This proposal reflects a foundational
effort in my lab to generate a high throughout, quantitative, real-time method of imaging cell and
nanoparticle behavior, in 3-dimensions, within the neonatal or perinatal brain in the presence of
disease. We will specifically focus on neuroinflammation as a common disease hallmark and
use a transgenic rat model of autism. This approach will open up new avenues of research in
the life sciences and clinical sciences, by providing a platform for assessment of processes that
are currently inaccessible to high-throughput study, including developmental processes (i.e.
synaptogenesis) and normal regulation of fluid flow (i.e. regulation of waste removal via the
glymphatic system). In addition, tracking and modelling nanoparticle co-localization in, or
interaction with, cells following injury could also provide new potential therapeutic targets.
Developing therapeutic technologies by leveraging their in vivo interactions with common
disease hallmarks can lead to more efficient translation of therapies across diseases with
shared pathophysiological features. Given that inflammation is a common factor across many
central nervous system (CNS) diseases, results are expected to provide insights and translate
from the autism model used in this proposal to other models, including adult, of brain disease.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10001544
- **Project number:** 5R35GM124677-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Elizabeth A Nance
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $361,909
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-08-01 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10001544

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10001544, Quantitative 3D imaging of in situ nanoparticle movement and cellular behavior during neuroinflammation (5R35GM124677-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10001544. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*