Research on tissue mechanics/metabolism (potentially relevant to cancer) awarded significant grants
9 April 2024
Alessandro Mongera, Lecturer in Developmental Mechanics in the UCL CDB, has been granted an AMS Springboard Award, together with an HFSP - a substantial and prestigious grant, for his research on the mechanical and metabolic control of embryo development


The goal of these projects is to connect PTs with metabolism, the chemical reactions in our bodies that produce energy and cell building blocks, and also with epigenetics in living embryos without affecting their normal development.
The research will be conducted using, as a model, vertebral column formation in zebrafish. Importantly, zebrafish allow the study of PTs, metabolism and epigenetics in living embryos (without affecting their normal development). The research will focus on the formation of the vertebral column, a process that can occur only if the tissue switches from fluid to solid at proper locations.
These studies have the potential to inform novel strategies for generating organs-in-a-dish as well as to block cancer invasion, which is easier when the tissue behave like a fluid.

For further information on the Springboard award – see https://acmedsci.ac.uk/more/news/66m-springboard-emerging-research-leaders (Ale is listed 16th in the awardees list)
For further information on the HFSP Research Grant – see https://www.hfsp.org/sites/default/files/2024-04/HFSPResearchGrant%20Award%20Booklet_2024.pdf (Ale is fourth in the UK list on p. 51 and the project is described on p. 21)