# New rules and tools to understand and control tissue-tissue collisions.

> **NIH NIH R35** · PRINCETON UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $390,824

## Abstract

Project Abstract
The 19th century physiologist Rudolf Virchow presented the concept of the `Cell State', describing tissue as “a
society of cells, a tiny well-ordered state, with all of the accessories — high officials and underlings, servants
and masters, the great and the small”. Today, this analogy has proven apropos and much of our understanding
of the interactions of cells within tissues is rooted in concepts from social networks, swarm theory, and
collective behavior. However, despite our deep knowledge of the biological mechanisms underpinning cell-cell
interactions, we know quite little about the interactions between tissues themselves and the social dynamics
that play out at the boundaries where tissues meet. Such boundaries are crucial in processes spanning
development, regeneration, tumor invasion, and wound healing, and a solid understanding not just of the
underlying biology but how we might control it would greatly advance biomedical research. Our research targets
this gap in knowledge from three directions: (1) developing new rules for studying what happens when tissues
collide and heal; (2) using these rules to inform new tools to assemble tissues that take advantage of how
tissues interact with each other; and (3) creating a new class of `cell-mimetic' biomaterials can integrate into
tissues as if they are part of the tissue by mimicking key interactions that arise at tissue-tissue boundaries. The
results of this research will inform not only our understanding of wound healing and tissue formation, but also
improve our abilities to build new tissues for regenerative medicine and new biomedical implant materials.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9994321
- **Project number:** 5R35GM133574-02
- **Recipient organization:** PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Daniel Cohen
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $390,824
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-15 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9994321

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9994321, New rules and tools to understand and control tissue-tissue collisions. (5R35GM133574-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9994321. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*