Rong Ma receives SSMF Starting Grant to explore hidden forces in the immune system
Rong Ma, incoming Assistant Professor at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, has received an SSMF Starting Grant to establish her independent research and investigate how mechanical forces influence the behaviour of immune cells. Her research could provide new insights into immune activation and, in the longer term, contribute to the development of safer and more effective immunotherapies.
Cells communicate not only through chemical signals. They also constantly push and pull on one another, using physical interactions to gather information about their surroundings. These mechanical signals can influence how cells behave and respond.
For Rong Ma, these processes are at the heart of mechano-immunology, a research field that investigates how mechanical forces affect the immune system. Her research aims to understand how immune cells generate and interpret precisely controlled forces and how these principles could ultimately be used in immunoengineering.
“Cells not only exchange chemical signals but also push and pull on each other constantly. A T cell scans antigens on neighbouring cells using tiny forces and, in a way, feels the antigens like handshakes. I want to understand how immune cells generate and interpret these defined forces to control their function, and how we can use those principles in immunoengineering.”
Better knowledge of force-related mechanisms in immune cells could help researchers understand why some therapeutic approaches do not work as expected and potentially point towards new ways of designing immunotherapies.
“There are still many missing pieces in how we connect the dots between force and immune activation. In the long run, I want to build the quantitative framework that establishes mechanical force as a core dimension in how we understand and design immune responses. I’m very motivated by this vision and can’t wait to get started.”
Excited to tackle the big questions
For Rong Ma, the SSMF starting grant represents more than financial support:
“The SSMF grant is a recognition of the importance of mechano-immunology and my independence as a scientist. This signal matters especially for someone new who is trying to launch their own lab. The four years of support give me the freedom to take on some high-risk, high-reward directions early on without letting practical considerations hold back the science.”
She is particularly looking forward to building her team and seeing both the research and the researchers develop:
“I’m super excited about assembling a great team and starting to tackle the big questions in mechano-immunology. Every time I look at the preliminary data, I feel the questions calling me, and I wish I could be an octopus so I could have my hands on every different aspect of the project at once! Now I finally have the resources to really go for it. To me, witnessing the growth of the people in my team is probably as exciting as witnessing the growth of the science.”
“Of course, it won’t be easy, and there will be obstacles, but that’s also what makes it a fun and exciting journey. We’ll chase the hidden forces and make new discoveries along the way!”