Elizabeth Wayne
University of Washington, WA·Biomedical Engineering
Macrophages are immune cells that can switch between different functional states, a process called polarization. Some states drive inflammation, while others support healing.
- Fields
Biomedical Engineering
Microbiology & Immunology
Engineering
- Topics
macrophage polarization
macrophages
bioluminescence microscopy
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Aug 2027
What they work on
- Develop bioluminescence microscopy, imaging of light made by reporter proteins in living cells, to track macrophage polarization over space and time while following individual cells.
- Identify which internal signals and external environmental cues matter most for sensing macrophage polarization in a disease context, using ex vivo culture systems and live imaging.
- Validate approaches for measuring macrophage polarization in settings relevant to biomaterial implants and nanoparticle drug delivery in solid tumors.
More about the research
These shifts help decide whether a tissue heals, a tumor grows, or a medical implant is accepted. Scientists can classify macrophages by the genes and proteins they express. They still cannot easily watch polarization happen in real time. That matters when judging whether an implant is causing trouble or a nanoparticle drug is working inside a solid tumor.
Why it matters
Doctors have few ways to check during treatment whether metal or electrical implants and nanoparticle drug delivery are working. Real-time readouts of macrophage states could lead to better biological sensors and to therapies tuned to each patient's macrophage profile, which could improve outcomes. The work may also point to new diagnostic tests and therapeutic targets.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Shreyas Rao
University of Alabama, AL·Biomedical Engineering
Engineer a 3D model of brain metastatic breast cancer by growing tumor cells, human microglia and macrophages as spheroids in a hyaluronic acid hydrogel, at clinically relevant cell ratios.
Pradipta Ghosh
University of California-San Diego, CA·Biochemistry
Determine how the modular domains of GIV, a scaffold protein linking G-protein switches, drive stem-like states, tumor growth and drug resistance in triple-negative breast cancers, using patient-derived organoids, tissue microarrays and mouse models.
Ruth Franklin
Harvard University, MA·Microbiology & Immunology
Determine how macrophages, tissue-patrolling immune cells, regulate inflammatory responses after viral or chemical damage to mucosal tissues in ways that promote host survival.
The school
University of Washington: 81 labs on PI Pages, $1.7B a year on research, 694 research doctorates a year.
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