# Understanding and controlling collective cell behaviors

> **NIH NIH R35** · PRINCETON UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $426,400

## Abstract

Project Summary
Our broad goal is to control the collective behavior of cells, similar to how a shepherd and
sheepdogs control a flock of sheep. This is of biomedical value because it is the coordinated
behaviors of cells that ultimately underlie our ability to heal and regenerate, the assembly of
complex organs, and the spread of invasive disease. Given the importance of collective cell
behaviors, we propose a two-part research program focused on much more deeply
understanding the origins and dynamics of collective cell behaviors, and using this
understanding to build new tools to literally ‘herd’ collective cell behaviors. In Program 1, we will
investigate the ‘rules’ of collective cell behaviors in much larger tissues than are normally
studied (we work at the cm-scale rather than micron-scale). We will connect our prior
discoveries on how large tissues coordinate their motion and cell division as they grow and heal
to new work on how thousands of cells in a tissue coordinate their use of energy and patterns of
gene expression. In Program 2, we will focus on further developing our unique bioelectric tools
that tap into an ancient collection of cellular responses to electric currents that we have
previously used to control cell migration. Here, we will investigate how electrical cues can
regulate collective processes such as tissue shape, stem cell differentiation, and gene activation
in engineered tissues. Progress in these areas may help us accelerate injury healing, delay
invasive disease, and improve how we grow tissues for regenerative medicine.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10842873
- **Project number:** 2R35GM133574-06
- **Recipient organization:** PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Daniel Cohen
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $426,400
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2019-08-15 → 2029-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10842873

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10842873, Understanding and controlling collective cell behaviors (2R35GM133574-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10842873. Licensed CC0.

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