ANNOUNCEMENT

NOBEL PRIZE 2026

This year's laureates, their fields, and the discoveries that earned them the prize.Live nowSee the winners
Moonbase
← Back to Awards
NIHNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF BIOMEDICAL IMAGING AND BIOENGINEERING

Developing a sensor to monitor brain-to-gut communication

Active
Institution
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY AT CHICAGO, IL
Principal investigator
Hojoon Lee
Funding
$232K
Duration
2025–2028
Open portfolio

Moonbase score

Still being scored

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY Dysregulation of neural control over gastrointestinal (GI) function is the principal cause of many digestive and metabolic disorders. While significant strides have been made in uncovering the molecular and cellular constituents of signals traveling from the gut to the brain, the reciprocal brain-to-gut communication remains largely unknown. Researchers are severely limited by the lack of specialized tools to study GI function. In response to this critical need, the overall objective in this proposal is to develop an implantable sensor enabling precise examination of gastric motility in small animal models. Towards this goal, the proposed research leverages recent breakthroughs in stretchable bio-electronics to address two specific aims: 1) Developing a miniature implantable, wireless device for chronic monitoring of gastric motility in awake, freely moving mice; 2) Employing optogenetic and microfluidic techniques to manipulate stomach activity and modulate motility . This application is poised to introduce groundbreaking methodologies for exploring the neural regulation of gastric motility, and, in the long-term, provide therapeutic strategies to alleviate gastroparesis.

LOADING MOONBASE SCORE

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF BIOMEDICAL IMAGING AND BIOENGINEERINGR21Bioengineering, Technology and Surgical Sciences Study Section[BTSS]sensormotilityneural controlfunction responsestretchableimplantablegastroparesisgastric

Questions for NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY AT CHICAGO

Answered by the team behind this research.

No questions yet. Sign in to ask the first one

Related grants

Same researchers, same institution, same topic, scored first.