Cellular Backpacks: A fundamental investigation of cell-material interactions.

该奖项是2021财年数学和物理科学提升博士后研究奖学金（MPS-Ascend）的一部分。每项奖学金在一名赞助科学家的指导下，支持一项在接收院校进行的数学和物理科学领域的研究和培训项目，包括对其他学科的应用。这项奖学金授予了Omokolade Adebowale博士，以支持他的研究项目“细胞背包：细胞-物质相互作用的基础研究”。该奖学金的主办机构是哈佛大学，赞助科学家是萨米尔·米特拉戈特里博士。Adebowale博士的研究重点是研究细胞“背包”的物理化学特性和细胞膜的生物物理特性如何调节细胞-背包的相互作用，从而增强细胞功能。“背包”由两个关键的结构部件组成：有效载荷携带区和细胞粘附区。目标是优化结构部件的机械和粘弹性特性，研究细胞膜特性如何影响细胞-背包的相互作用，并研究这些特性如何介导细胞功能。研究成果将通过网站、社交媒体、会议、技术论文以及一年一度的剑桥科学节（Cambridge Science Festival）广泛传播。扩大未被充分代表的少数群体参与数学和物理科学的计划包括与波士顿地区的研究生和博士后合作，为申请研究生院的本科生提供指导。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award is made as part of the FY 2021 Mathematical and Physical Sciences Ascending Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (MPS-Ascend). Each fellowship supports a research and training project at a host institution in the mathematical and physical sciences, including applications to other disciplines, under the mentorship of a sponsoring scientist. This fellowship to Dr. Omokolade Adebowale supports his research project entitled " Cellular Backpacks: A fundamental investigation of cell-material interactions." The host institution for the fellowship is Harvard University, and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Samir Mitragotri. Dr. Adebowale's research focuses in the study of how the physicochemical properties of cellular ‘backpacks’, and the biophysical properties of cell membranes, regulate cell-backpack interactions that lead to enhanced cellular functions. The ‘backpacks’ consist of two key structural components: a payload carrying region, and a cell-adhesion region. The goals are to optimize the mechanical and viscoelastic properties of the structural components, study how cell-membrane properties impact cell-backpack interactions, and to investigate how these properties mediate cellular functions. The outcomes of the research will be broadly disseminated through websites, social media, conferences, technical papers, and at the annual Cambridge Science Festival. The plan to broaden participation of underrepresented minority groups in mathematical and physical sciences includes partnering with graduate students and postdocs in the Boston-area to provide mentorship for undergraduates applying to graduate school.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.