UCL secures $1.5M HFSP grant to study musculoskeletal systems of head-first burrowers

We are thrilled to announce that a team led by UCL has been awarded a prestigious Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) Research Grant for the project “Musculoskeletal System of Head-First Burrowers: An Interdisciplinary Approach.” The $1.5 million award will support a three-year collaborative effort among four international research teams.

Leading this international effort from UCL are Professor Mehran Moazen (UCL Mechanical Engineering), Professor Susan Evans (UCL Cell & Developmental Biology), and Dr Sara Abad Guaman (UCL Mechanical Engineering). Their international collaborators include Professor Dominique Adriaens (Ghent University, Belgium), Professor Henrik Birkedal (Aarhus University, Denmark), and Professor Tiana Kohlsdorf (University of São Paulo, Brazil).

The project seeks to unravel how small, mainly limbless animals—some with heads less than 10mm in size—are able to burrow through various soils. These animals generate forces far exceeding their body weight, and their heads have evolved distinct morphologies to withstand such mechanical stress without injury. Despite its evolutionary significance, head-first burrowing remains one of the least understood forms of vertebrate locomotion.

To bridge this knowledge gap, the team will focus on a unique group of reptiles known as amphisbaenians - limbless, burrowing lizards that resemble snakes. They exhibit four distinct head shapes (shovel, spade, keel, and round), thought to be adapted to different burrowing strategies, although other evolutionary drivers may be involved.

The four contributing labs will use a range of advanced techniques to study amphisbaenian:

(1) Moazen lab will characterise the mechanics of their skull bones and joints and how it interacts with different soils using computed tomography, image processing & computer simulations

(2) Kohlsdorf lab will measure the forces acting on their skulls using real life measurement and unravel their genomes to understand how genetically di/similar they are to one another

(3) Birkedal lab will examine the chemical composition and nanostructure of their skull tissues and explore potential links with their genetics and overall shape and size

(4) Adriaens lab will investigate the role of muscles and sensory organs within their skin, and their movement in different soils.

This foundational research promises insights with broad scientific and practical implications. Findings could inform tissue engineering by revealing how mechanical forces, biological function, and gene expression interact. They could also inspire the development of miniaturised robotic systems for biomedical or excavation applications. Most significantly, the project will contribute to training a new generation of researchers in bioinspired design and interdisciplinary science.

The grant was among the top 25 proposals selected from 65 full applications (out of an initial 669 letters of intent), following a rigorous, multi-stage review by HFSP’s independent international Review Committee and renowned scientists worldwide.

Congratulations to team UCL!