$1M Grant to Fund Purdue Research
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA physics professor at Purdue University has been awarded a grant that will be used to uncover how cells measure time. Andrew Mugler will use the more than $1 million grant from the 2016 Human Frontier Science Program to conduct the research with colleagues at two European institutions.
Mugler, along with Rick Korswagen at the Utrecht University in the Netherlands and Marie-Anne Felix of IBENS in France, were one of 25 teams to receive the three-year grant out of a pool of more than 800 applicants. Purdue says the team will use a combination of molecular genetics tools to get a better understanding of the timing system within cells.
"Timing is everything, especially during embryonic development," said Mugler. "There are remarkable cells that, during nematode development, migrate from the back to the front in order to become neurons. These cells stop at a precise location, but rather than being guided by positional cues or location, they have been shown to have an intrinsic timer. We want to find out how this system maintains such precise timing."
The international team will specifically study worm cells that, according to Purdue, have been shown to reply on precise timing. The Human Frontier Science Program’s website says funding is awarded for projects that focus on "the complex mechanisms of living organisms."
"This award is a testament to professor Mugler’s talent and capability as a researcher," said John Finley, professor and head of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. "Applicants for the prestigious Human Frontier Science Program grants went through a rigorous year-long selection process and global competition. We are proud of his accomplishment."
You can learn more about the HFSP and the grants by clicking here.