COBRE 2 Research Project Leader Project 3

The Center for Cell Signaling Research (CCSR) at the University of New England received a $10.8 million NIH COBRE award to establish a multidisciplinary center focused on the mechanisms governing cellular communication and how those mechanisms influence human disease. As one of four biomedical research faculty supported by the CCSR, Harry Filippakis, Ph.D., is a Project Leader within this COBRE award structure.

The CCSR builds on UNE’s prior COBRE success and cements the university’s role as Maine’s leading institution for NIH-funded biomedical research, aiming to translate insights in cell signaling into new therapeutic approaches for conditions such as dementia, diabetes, osteoporosis, and heart disease. The COBRE grant funds both investigator-driven research and shared infrastructure. A central component of the CCSR is the development of an In Vitro Analytical Core (IVAC), a facility designed to provide essential instrumentation, primary cell and cell line culture capabilities, functional imaging, and transcriptional and protein-based analysis to support the center’s projects.

The COBRE structure fosters interactions among investigators with complementary expertise — spanning chemistry, immunology, neuroscience, and clinical perspectives — to tackle complex questions about how signals between cells regulate tissue function and contribute to disease. Although specific details of Filippakis’s experimental focus are not described in the provided text, his role as one of four CCSR-supported faculty places him within a coordinated effort to use the IVAC’s capabilities and the center’s collaborative framework to probe signaling mechanisms that underlie major public health challenges. B

Beyond advancing individual projects, the CCSR is positioned to expand Maine’s research infrastructure and workforce. The grant supports laboratory development and investigator careers, while enabling translational directions in regenerative medicine, pain biology, and therapies for chronic conditions. UNE’s investment in core facilities and leadership seeks to ensure that research findings can move from mechanistic discovery toward interventions that improve health outcomes.