RESEARCH INITIATION AWARD: FUNDAMENTAL STUDIES OF RECEPTOR-MEDIATED CELL ADHESION USING TWO SIMPLE ADHESION ASSAYS ABSTRACT The focus of this proposal is to use a combination of theory and experiment to further our quantitative knowledge about cell adhesion. This is to be done through an intensive study of two assays for cell adhesiveness: a parallel plate assay for adhesion under conditions of flow, and a centrifugal assay. The former is an important assay which indicates the factors which control the type of adhesiveness found in the vasculature, and in many biotechnological devices; the latter is a diagnostic assay used by biological scientists to quantitate adhesiveness, but whose interpretation and proper implementation have yet to be demonstrated. The systematic studies proposed here should yield important results and test hypotheses about how cells make adhesive contacts. It should provide valuable information for scientists and engineers whose aims are to manipulate cell behavior in disease states, or to design and implement biotechnological devices which involve adhesive interactions.
