The research objective of this award is to understand the cilium, one of biology's most fascinating machines. The cilium performs a diverse range of functions throughout the biological world from nutrient gathering and sensing to organ development and fluid propulsion. The design principles that make them work - from their architecture to the force generating molecular arrays that produce their complex beat shapes- are central to important questions in biology and biomedicine, and also provide a template for myriad biomimetic technologies. The goal of this project is to develop a computational model of how the cilium works as informed by advanced nanomanipulation experiments to assess the cilium mechanics and force generation.
A complete model of the cilium is necessary to provide a deeper view of the underlying mechanisms that make complex biological machines work throughout nature. An accurate ciliary model will also provide invaluable insights into biomedical questions related to ciliary function in the lung and the brain, as well is in technological contexts such as microfluidics systems where biomimetic cilia arrays could provide unprecedented control over fluid pumping and sensing at the nano and micro scales. That cilia are one of the principle wonders of the biological world drives the researcher's outreach efforts that will include the building of a scale cilium model and an accompanying animation of dynamic ciliary motion to be distributed online. They will also develop interactive software in which a dynamical ciliary model can be explored by tuning the mechanical properties of cilium or fluid viscosity. These activities will be promoted through the investigators extensive collaborations with regional science museums and the North Carolina Science Festival.
