Block Grant F32AR055444

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Biological Sciences program project grant, awarded to Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), aims to uncover the underlying biophysical mechanisms of directed cell migration. The $1,049,497 grant, with a period of performance from January 2024 to December 2027, will examine how actin cytoskeletal networks and adhesion receptors interact as interdependent subsystems to facilitate matrix-guided cell migration, which is crucial for tissue formation and...

This $677,600 Project Grant award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (CFDA 93.837 Cardiovascular Diseases Research) aims to gain a mechanistic understanding of erythroid progenitor (EP) self-renewal, both in vitro and in vivo. The primary goals are to: Test the hypothesis that the BMI1/RING1B chromatin modulators regulate human self-renewing erythroblast (SRE) self-renewal through epigenetic control of transcription and cholesterol homeostasis. Test the hypothesis that...

The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) awarded a $296,256 Project Grant (CFDA 93.846) to Advanced Molecular Healix Inc., a small disadvantaged business, to develop a novel therapeutic strategy using HIF-1α mRNA to promote vascular perfusion and survival of pedicle flaps in wound healing. The research project aims to quantify HIF-1α mRNA expression and downstream gene induction following intradermal injection in animal models, and then assess the in vivo...

This National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Biomedical Research and Research Training Program (CFDA 93.859) $325,000 project grant award to The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania supports research to advance the understanding of actin filament dynamics. The research aims to investigate the structural-functional mechanisms controlling actin polymerization and depolymerization at the barbed and pointed ends of actin filaments. Key objectives include examining the regulation...

This federal Project Grant award of $410,000 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Biomedical Research and Research Training Program (CFDA 93.859) supports research to investigate the evolutionary diversification of cytoskeletal proteins and how they specialize for tissue-specific roles. The five-year project, which began on January 1, 2025, will focus on three main areas: Determining how evolution alters the canonical ARP2/3 complex, an essential actin nucleator, and...

This Project Grant award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), under the Cardiovascular Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.837), provides $116,278 to the University of South Florida to investigate the role of the plasminogen activator (PA) pathway in lymphatic malformations. The key research activities include: Assessing the expression of key PA enzymes and utilizing in vitro zymography to evaluate matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activation related to lymphatic valve defects...

This Project Grant award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Biomedical Research and Research Training Program (CFDA 93.859) is funding research at the University of Oregon to investigate the role of the protein cortactin in stabilizing actin branch networks and their impact on force production. The $147,656 award will support a 2.5-year project that aims to: Isolate cortactin's function as an actin branch stabilizer and determine how it affects the ability of actin...

This federal Project Grant award from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), under the Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.846), provides $607,398 to Albany Medical College to investigate the role of the epidermal integrin α3β1 in age-related declines in wound healing. The research aims to determine how changes in this integrin receptor on epidermal keratinocytes during aging impact two key wound healing processes:...

This $409,375 federal Project Grant award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Biomedical Research and Research Training Program (CFDA 93.859) supports research to determine how membrane fluidity regulates embryonic cell migration. The research, conducted by The Johns Hopkins University, aims to understand how migrating cells actively regulate local membrane fluidity to orient cell migration and position receptor proteins necessary for chemotaxis. The work will utilize...

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) awarded a $772,940 Project Grant (CFDA 93.395 - Cancer Treatment Research) to Fibroplate Inc. to conduct preclinical research on their Fibrinoplate-S (FPS) technology. FPS utilizes fibrinogen-coated albumin nanospheres to accelerate the healing of surgical wounds in breast cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy. The key objectives of this SBIR Phase I project are to: 1) Demonstrate FPS's ability to promote surgical wound healing after radiotherapy in a...