Yang Zhang, an assistant professor at North Carolina State University’s (NC State) Wilson College of Textiles, has received a five-year, $1.8 million research award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, a sector of the National Institutes of Health.

Light, or lack thereof, is a key issue when studying nanoscopic biological environments in high-resolution microscopy. This is the challenge Zhang’s research seeks to solve to help doctors, biologists and pathologists see cells better under microscopes. Improving resolution also minimizes damage to cells, providing interdisciplinary benefits that span from medical practice to cell biology. 

“DNA is a fiber. In one of 37 trillion cells that make up a human body, if you splice all the DNA from a cell together it would be two meters long. So the DNA must be tightly packed to fit in a cell nucleus, sized one-tenth of the thickness of a human hair. Essentially, we’re trying to solve how DNA fiber is physically opening up just like unwinding a yarn package,” says Zhang. “Our technology is especially focused on trying to decode the DNA and studying the fibers. The biological problem we’re trying to solve is related to polymers and fibers within the cell.”

The specific goal is to develop a “toolbox” of fluorescent dyes to enhance microscopy, leading to more accurate and efficient tools to assist in diagnosing diseases as well as numerous other applications across fields. Associate Dean for Research Xiangwu Zhang explains the significance of the college receiving a grant of this stature.

“This NIH-sponsored project marks a significant milestone for the Wilson College of Textiles, highlighting a promising intersection between textiles and biomedical science. Here, fibers and polymers are dyed with the goal of advancing human health,” Xiangwu Zhang says, associate dean for research at the university. “Yang Zhang and his research team will engineer innovative fluorescent molecules to dye natural fibers and polymers, enabling visualization of their roles as they are ‘woven and spun’ into essential life processes. Leveraging expertise in textile dye chemistry, this project is set to drive scientific discovery and innovation across a broad spectrum of biomedical research, including epigenetics, chromatin biology and cell biology.”

Over the five-year term the grant funds will be used for:

  • Hiring post-doctoral and graduate researchers
  • Building out the current microscope accessible for researchers in the college
  • Incorporating machine learning to assist in the decoding of dye and color
  • Buying high-sensitivity cameras and other equipment



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