# Engineering biophysical microtechnologies for hematologic applications in health and disease

> **NIH NIH R35** · EMORY UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $764,994

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
 Complex biophysical cellular interactions are integral to many hematological processes ranging from platelet
aggregation to leukocyte rolling and extravasation through the endothelium. While molecular biology has led to
the discovery of numerous causative genes and associated biochemical signaling pathways, that is only part of
the picture, analogous to knowing only the actors in a play without knowing the plot. To fully comprehend how
these cellular machines in our blood work in concert in the dynamic environment of the circulation and how these
physical interactions go awry during disease states requires physical tools that operate at the cellular and
subcellular scales. With my background as a “physician-scientist-engineer” trained in clinical hematology and
bioengineering with specific focuses in micro/nanosystems technologies, microfluidics, and cellular mechanics,
my laboratory has steadily merged these fields together to develop tools to answer biophysical hematologic
questions that were previously technologically infeasible, which we then immediately translate to my patients'
bedsides. With specific focuses on hematologic processes and diseases such as hemostasis, thrombosis and
sickle cell disease, our laboratory has leveraged our unique combined clinical and engineering expertise to invent
groundbreaking microtechnologies that either function as in vitro models of hematologic processes and disease
that are more physiologically relevant than current systems or enable answering specific biophysical questions
in hematology that current systems are incapable of. More specifically, we have developed: 1) “organ-on-chip”
technologies to enable vascularized microfluidic models of the microvasculature that function as physiologically
relevant models of hemostasis, thrombosis, and sickle cell disease pathophysiology and 2) microengineered
platforms to study the cellular mechanics of how platelets respond to their biophysical microenvironment.
Collectively, our microtechnologies have not only led to groundbreaking research that have addressed questions
in hematology that were not answerable with current assays, but also serve as drug discovery platforms,
precursor technologies for novel diagnostic devices, and even paradigm-shifting drug delivery strategies. Moving
forward, our research program progresses both in terms of technology development and application thereof,
from asking basic impactful questions as well as translation towards the patient. Examples of the former involve
incorporating more complex microengineered features into our microfluidics, such as mechanical components
and novel biomaterials, to enable an “endothelialized” bleeding model to study all of the principal components of
hemostasis in vitro and a collagen hydrogel-based microvasculature-on-a-chip to investigate how cell-cell
interactions in sickle cell disease causes endothelial dysfunction, respectively. On the other hand, we are also
now applyin...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10109141
- **Project number:** 5R35HL145000-03
- **Recipient organization:** EMORY UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Wilbur A Lam
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $764,994
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-03-22 → 2026-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10109141

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10109141, Engineering biophysical microtechnologies for hematologic applications in health and disease (5R35HL145000-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10109141. Licensed CC0.

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