Thrust Area 1 (TA1) supports the ability to bank and transport biological systems at the pre-cooling stage, aiming to engineer CryoProtective Agents (CPAs) and the biosystems themselves to prepare for subzero preservation and recovery to normal function. Researchers in TA1 use examples of nature’s freeze-tolerant organisms (e.g. wood frogs) to guide their bioengineering.

TA1 is supported by 14 projects involving researchers primarily at MGH and UMN, along with TAMU, UC Berkeley UC Riverside and CMU. Half of these projects involve faculty from more than one institution and all converge on achieving progress in the following tasks: