# Detection of Emergent Mechanical Properties of Biologically Complex Cellular States

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY · 2023 · $48,083

## Abstract

Abstract
This is a Diversity Supplement to R01EB024989 for the career development of Taylor Thomsen, a first-
generation college student who is entering her 2nd-year of graduate school in the UCSF-UC Berkeley Graduate
Program in Bioengineering. Thomsen has just joined the Sohn Research Laboratory for her doctoral thesis. The
parent grant application pursues the hypothesis that breast cancer risk factors such as age, genetics, and family
history integrate through molecular pathways in human mammary epithelial cells (HMECS), resulting in a unique
mechanical age in a woman that is distinct from her chronological age. The disparity in mechanical and
chronological age measures the susceptibility of a woman’s risk for breast cancer. Under the parent grant, HMEC
mechanical properties will be measured using a combination of planar-flow mechano-node-pore sensing
(mechano-NPS) and in silico modeling, and mechanical age will be determined through machine learning. Under
this Diversity Supplement, Thomsen will develop a new platform—circular mechano-NPS—that will allow her to
investigate the mechanical memory of human mammary epithelial cells (HMECs) as they undergo cyclical
mechanical dosing. In Aim 1, she will design and prototype the circular mechano-NPS device and test different
prototypes using non-malignant MCF10A cells. In Aim 2, she will perform initial mechanical memory experiments
with HMEC strains. Ultimately, Thomsen will explore the differences in the mechanical memory of HMECs among
young and old women and women who carry who carry germline BRCA1, BRCA2, or PALB2 variants. Mentoring
and career development plans for Thomsen are outlined in this supplement, as well as how Thomsen’s
appointment promotes diversity within UC Berkeley and the national STEM community.
.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10838854
- **Project number:** 3R01EB024989-05S2
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY
- **Principal Investigator:** Mark A LaBarge
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $48,083
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2023-03-01 → 2027-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10838854

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10838854, Detection of Emergent Mechanical Properties of Biologically Complex Cellular States (3R01EB024989-05S2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-12 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10838854. Licensed CC0.

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