Award
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke 5F32NS134683-03
A Comparative Analysis of OPC and Microglia Phagocytosis and its Relevance to Neurodegenerative Disease
Recipient
University of Massachusetts Medical School Worcester
Award Amount
$73,769.00
Ceiling
$73,769.00
Awarded
May 05, 2026
Identifier
5F32NS134683-03
This award funds research to compare OPC and microglial phagocytosis and its impact on OPC function and differentiation, particularly in neurodegenerative disease contexts, with a focus on complement C3 dependency.
Description
The overarching goal of this proposal is to gain a deeper understanding of OPC phagocytosis in both health and disease and determine how phagocytosis alters their differentiation capacity. These results will have implications for neurodegenerative disease as lack of OPC differentiation is observed in multiple neurodegenerative states. This data will lay critical groundwork for future investigation into the diverse functions of OPCs in disease and will provide novel insight into new mechanisms that may alter OPC differentiation.