BETHESDA — Directed cell movement is vital for several key processes necessary to maintain life and health. Without it, tissues and organs would not form correctly, wounds would not heal and leukocytes would be unable to track down invading viruses and bacteria to fight infection. Cell migration also plays an important role in various disease states, facilitating tumor metastasis, contributing to inflammation, and altering histogenesis to cause congenital brain defects.
Recognizing the need for an integrative, interdisciplinary approach to promote the understanding of cell movement, the US National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) has awarded a five-year, $38 million 'glue grant' to a consortium of scientists comprised of researchers from 12 universities and research institutions in the United States, as well as the University of Oxford and the Technische Universität, Berlin.
"We have identified what we consider to be barriers to progress" — aspects of the field that are ...
