9733928 Meaney Cells in the human body are aware constantly of their outside environment and often respond to even small changes in surrounding mechanical forces. However, the exact nature and course of these mechanically initiated changes remains largely unexplained. If better understood, the adaptation of cells to mechanical stress could be better controlled to understand and direct cell growth, maintenance, and the restoration of cell function. The underlying premise of the research and educational activities of this CAREER award is that critical new advances in the control of cell function are accomplished by combining molecular based control of biological systems with an engineered modulation of the external mechanical forces sensed by the cell. An experimental approach is used to understand how mechanical forces are sensed, or transduced, by neuronal cells of the brain and spinal cord. The focus of research in this CAREER award is on understanding how changes to the structural architecture of the neuron can affect the sensing mechanisms for the cell. By developing structure-function relationships for normal neurons, we seek to extend these studies and accomplish our long term objective of using these sensing mechanisms to assist in the repair or recovery of the diseased or injured neuron. The central aim of the educational plan is to bring elements of cellular bioengineering research to the undergraduate level and form a stronger interface with the clinical sciences in the bioengineering undergraduate program. These two elements as critical for bioengineering undergraduates to experience, since they both bring undergraduates closer to the process of creating new knowledge through basic research and viewing the practical applications of basic bioengineering research in medicine. It is expected that the exposure to research based laboratories and modern tools in biomedicine at the undergraduate level will help prepare students for careers where research is a more pervasive element and is constantly translated into improvements in health care technology. ***
