# Core 1: Tissue Microfabrication Core

> **NIH NIH U54** · CORNELL UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $274,972

## Abstract

Project Summary – Tissue Microfabrication Core 
The elucidation of biophysical mechanisms that lead to metabolic aberrations in tumors and, in turn, impact 
cancer progression, requires specialized capabilities for the manipulation of cells, biological materials, and 
tissues and for the development of computational models to evaluate hypotheses and interpret experimental 
data. Additionally, the assessment of the clinical relevance of these mechanisms and their translation toward 
therapeutic applications requires coordinated access to patient-derived samples with thorough clinical and 
genetic profiling and data basing. The Tissue Microfabrication Core will provide project investigators a shared 
infrastructure that satisfies these requirements. The Core will organize these capabilities into three distinct, but 
integrated aims that couple strongly to the projects and to the Biophysics and Metabolic Imaging Core: Aim 1 
will manage the acquisition, clinical and genomic characterization, data banking, and distribution of patient- 
derived tissues; the coordination of tissue transfer between sites will be a central task of this aim. Aim 2 will 
support the development and fabrication of advanced culture platforms and microfluidic devices for the 
characterization of cells and biomaterials; it will also interact closely with Aim 1 on the development of new 
approaches for the propagation of patient-derived cells in engineered microenvironments and the Biophysics 
and Metabolic Imaging Core on compatibility with diverse modes of characterization. Aim 3 will support metabolic 
analysis and experimental design and interpretation with a hierarchy of computational models spanning from 
linear models of metabolic flux through nonlinear models that allow for the incorporation of signaling and gene 
regulation to multiscale models of cell growth and interaction in the tumor microenvironment. This Core will work 
closely with the Biophysics and Metabolic Imaging Core on the development of new capabilities and the 
assurance of quality control across all Projects. The core leverages and unites established strengths at the host 
institutions: (i) clinical cancer care and translational cancer research at Weill Cornell Medical College (WCMC) 
and, in particular, the Institute for Precision Medicine (IPM) run by WCMC and New York-Presbyterian Hospital; 
(ii) innovation in the application of micro- and nanofabrication to the life sciences at Cornell's Centers for 
Nanobiotechnology (NBTC) and Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNF); and (iii) leadership in the 
development of multi-scale computational models that link intracellular, intercellular and tissue scale processes 
at Purdue University. Integration between these capabilities in this Core will allow the Center to build a new 
dimension – biophysical characterization – into the Precision Medicine approach to cancer care.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10020777
- **Project number:** 5U54CA210184-05
- **Recipient organization:** CORNELL UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Jeffrey David Varner
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $274,972
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10020777

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10020777, Core 1: Tissue Microfabrication Core (5U54CA210184-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-01 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10020777. Licensed CC0.

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