August 2, 2024
Researchers will study topics related to inflammation and the functions of the immune system
The Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago announced the first cohort of Investigators—48 innovative scientists and engineers from its three partner universities: the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. This funding will enable Investigators to perform high-risk, high-reward research on topics related to instrumented tissues, inflammation, and the functions of the immune system.
The Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago was launched in March 2023, the first location to expand the CZ Biohub Network out of California. The Network is a groundbreaking collaborative model for scientific research with leading research institutions in different regions. CZ Biohub Chicago focuses on engineering technologies to make precise, molecular-level measurements of biological processes within human tissues, with an ultimate goal of understanding and treating the inflammatory states that underlie many diseases.
Surgical tissue healing
Bryan Dickinson, Professor of Chemistry (with Benjamin Shogan, Associate Professor of Surgery)
Bryan Dickinson and Benjamin Shogan have received a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator Award to support groundbreaking research on dynamic protein-RNA interactions (PRIs) that fine-tune inflammation. This award will enable the team to expand its innovative work on BAP-seq, a chemical biology technology designed to measure RNA localization and interactions in living systems. "Our CZI team will leverage and expand BAP-seq to uncover novel, dynamic PRIs that modulate inflammation in cellular assays, animal models, and eventually, human patients," said Dickinson. This research focuses on surgical tissue healing, addressing a critical unmet medical need caused by dysregulated inflammatory responses.
The grant will fund sequencing experiments and technological development of BAP-seq in the Dickinson group and the use of these technologies to further understand intestinal healing of gastrointestinal surgery in the Shogan group. The project aims to “develop a deep understanding of how inflammatory regulation is necessary for intestinal healing and how disturbances of inflammation lead to postoperative complications,” said Shogan. By bridging laboratory research and clinical applications, this multidisciplinary and high-risk project exemplifies the transformative potential of CZI's funding approach. Dickinson and Shogan will receive $900,000 over three years to conduct this cutting-edge research.
Characterizing inflammatory response
Margaret Gardel, Horace B. Horton Professor of Physics and Molecular Engineering, and Vincenzo Vitelli, Professor of Physics
Margaret Gardel and Vincenzo Vitelli have received a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator Award, providing substantial support for their innovative research on inflammatory response. "The CZ Biohub Investigator award will allow our lab to explore new approaches to characterize inflammatory response at the cell and tissue scale," said Gardel. She emphasized that the flexibility of the award offers the freedom to develop techniques and ideas that are typically considered too risky for traditional funding sources. Gardel also highlighted the program's role in strengthening Chicagoland's biomedical and bioengineering community, which will significantly benefit their research and training initiatives.
Vincenzo Vitelli added that the grant will facilitate the development of novel machine-learning techniques aimed at inferring interpretable mathematical models of inflammatory response directly from data. "This is somewhat the other way around compared to classic modeling approaches in which one starts with clear hypotheses and compares predictions with data only at the end of the process," explained Vitelli. Gardel and Vitelli, both members of the James Franck Institute and the Center for Living Systems, will receive $900,000 over three years to conduct this innovative work.