# First person – Matthew Penaso-Stinson and Summer Paulson

## TL;DR

This paper discusses how macrophages move persistently and directionally in confined 2D environments influenced by the extracellular matrix.

## Contribution

The study reveals new insights into macrophage migration behavior under specific extracellular matrix conditions.

## Key findings

- Macrophages migrate persistently and directionally upon entering 2D confinement.
- Extracellular matrix presence influences macrophage migration patterns.
- The research contributes to understanding macrophage behavior in constrained environments.

## Abstract

First Person is a series of interviews with the first authors of a selection of papers published in Biology Open, helping researchers promote themselves alongside their papers. Matthew Penaso-Stinson and Summer Paulson are co-first authors on ‘ Macrophages migrate persistently and directionally upon entering 2D confinement in the presence of extracellular matrix’, published in BiO. Matthew and Summer conducted the research described in this article as PhD students in Dr Jeremy Rotty's lab at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda. Matthew is now a postdoc in the lab of Dr Martin Meier-Schellersheim at National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, investigating how binding of distinct extracellular matrix fibers determines macrophage directional migration and inflammatory responses. Summer is a recent PhD graduate interested in articulating the interaction between the microenvironment and intracellular signaling that drives microglial function.