# A model system to study mechanosensing in podocytes

> **NIH NIH F31** · COLUMBIA UNIV NEW YORK MORNINGSIDE · 2020 · $45,520

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 End stage renal disease affects millions of Americans and while manageable in its early phases through
dialysis, the only treatment is kidney transplantation. Podocytes have been implicated in many kidney diseases
and their structural role in the filtration barrier is thought to be a dynamic process by which the podocyte actively
reorganizes its actin cytoskeleton. The goal of this project is to combine high-content image analysis with a novel
nanotechnology platform to understand how podocytes retain their structural integrity against injury, and use this
system to study how a major cell signaling pathway operates in the context of the glomerulus. Our novel research
platform comprises spatially-specific microengineered 3-D surfaces that can induce the formation of cell-cell
junctions in podocytes. Our platform allows the study of podocyte biomechanics along with other biochemical
characteristics simultaneously all in a physiologically relevant microenvironment. Hence, the project is
transformative in two ways: first by creating a new platform to study podocyte biology with greater physiological
relevance and second by applying this system to test the biophysical effects of altered mechanobiological
signaling that may affect the progression of chronic kidney disease at the cellular level.
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## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10017024
- **Project number:** 5F31DK124135-02
- **Recipient organization:** COLUMBIA UNIV NEW YORK MORNINGSIDE
- **Principal Investigator:** Smiti Bhattacharya
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $45,520
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-06 → 2021-09-05

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10017024

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10017024, A model system to study mechanosensing in podocytes (5F31DK124135-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10017024. Licensed CC0.

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