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Transforming Medicine from the Inside Out
Support the RITMS Center for Cellular Dynamics & Physics of Living Cells

At the intersection of bioengineering, cell biology, and medicine lies a bold new frontier—one that redefines how we understand, diagnose, and treat disease at its most fundamental level. The RITMS Center for Cellular Dynamics & Physics of Living Cells is leading this transformation. Under the visionary leadership of Dr. Steven An, a globally recognized expert in single-cell signaling, this Center is pioneering new ways to visualize and modulate the physical and molecular forces that govern how our cells move, grow, contract, and respond to their environment. These are not just academic questions—they are the keys to solving some of the most persistent health challenges of our time, from asthma to cancer.

Why Support This Center?

• Innovative Technologies: Our team has developed one-of-a-kind bioengineering tools, including Fourier transform traction microscopy, optical magnetic twisting cytometry, and spontaneous nanoscale tracer motion analysis—allowing us to see and measure life at the single-cell level in ways never before possible.
• Breakthrough Discoveries: We’ve identified entirely new signaling pathways in human airway cells—revealing that bitter taste and olfactory receptors, typically associated with the tongue and nose, also exist in the lungs. Even more remarkable: activating these receptors has a powerful therapeutic effect, relaxing airway muscles and halting disease progression in asthma and other respiratory illnesses.
• Uncovering the Gut-Lung Axis: Our research has revealed how short-chain fatty acids, byproducts of the gut microbiome, communicate with airway cells via these ancient sensory receptors—uncovering a new biological pathway with enormous potential for drug discovery.
• Training the Next Generation: Beyond innovation, we are deeply committed to mentoring the next wave of researchers and physician-scientists who will carry this vision forward.

Your Investment Can Change Lives

The RITMS Center is uniquely equipped to translate basic mechanobiological discoveries into life-changing therapies. But we can’t do it alone. Philanthropic support is essential to help us accelerate this work, expand access to our cutting-edge technologies, and fuel breakthroughs that will redefine treatments for asthma, cancer, and beyond.

By supporting the RITMS Center for Cellular Dynamics & Physics of Living Cells, you are investing in the future of medicine—one where we treat disease not just at the level of symptoms, but at the root causes encoded in the mechanics of life itself.

Join us. Let’s reimagine what’s possible.