ERC Starting Grant · 2025
Deconstructing Adaptive Piezoelectric Responses in Pathological and Healthy Microenvironments
Tissues are piezoelectric materials, generating electrical signals in response to mechanical stress, and yet this important aspect has not yet been incorporated into the design of disease research models, particularly in conditions like idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Piezoelectricity affects cellular migration, growth, and differentiation. However, most of our understanding of cell-tissue interactions comes from studying cells under ‘static’ mechanical conditions. Cells interact with their microenvironment by applying forces and receiving bioelectric feedback through ion channels, which are overexpressed in fibrotic tissues (16-fold). Because macrophages and fibroblasts are involved…
From the public funding record at EU CORDIS. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.