Project Grant 2000202

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $195,656 Project Grant under its Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) to the University of Cincinnati for a collaborative research study on the collective dynamics of multiple bacterial flagella. This 3-year project, starting on July 1, 2024, aims to understand how the flagellar filaments of peritrichous bacteria, such as E. coli, synchronize and rotate collectively to enable swimming in fluid media. The research will integrate macroscopic model...

This Project Grant award of $410,000.00 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) under the Biomedical Research and Research Training (CFDA 93.859) Federal Grant Program supports research to investigate bacterial secretion systems using cryo-electron tomography. The project aims to study the assembly, disassembly, and function of two specific bacterial secretion systems - the flagellar motor and the type IV secretion system. The research will utilize advanced microscopy...

This $402,500 Project Grant award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Biomedical Research and Research Training Program (CFDA 93.859) aims to develop a novel approach that combines modular fluorophores and correlative super-resolution microscopy to investigate the structure, dynamics, and interactome of biomolecular condensates in bacteria. The project, being conducted at New York University, will apply this "opto-proteomic toolbox" to understand the role of...

This Project Grant award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), under the Biomedical Research and Research Training (CFDA 93.859) program, provides $1,465,164 to the University of Illinois to develop new super-accurate and super-resolved fluorescence microscopy techniques and probes for studying single molecular motors. The key products and services to be delivered include: 1) Developing the MinFlux fluorescence technique to achieve 1-2 nm resolution at 0.1-1 ms,...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering (CFDA 47.041) project grant, awarded to the Regents of the University of Minnesota, aims to study the collective dynamics of multiple flagella in a bacterial bundle and their impact on bacterial swimming. The $354,066 award, spanning July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2027, will integrate experiments on macroscopic model flagella, microscopic living bacteria, and numerical simulations to resolve the underlying fluid-mechanics principles governing the...

This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) provides $442,106 to Florida International University (FIU) to develop a new self-crowding and ligand-binding assisted nanopore sensor for ultrasensitive, label-free detection of small molecules, including biomolecules and bioactive compounds, at the single-molecule level under physiological conditions. The project aims to advance nanopore sensing capabilities to overcome key challenges in small...

This NSF Engineering Program award of $605,320 to North Carolina State University (NC State) supports the development of a flexible, FMRI-compatible neural probe with multi-modal sensing and modulation capabilities. The novel probe is designed to advance understanding of neural circuit dynamics and enable closed-loop neuromodulation for treating neurological disorders. Key product elements include: Flexible, multi-shank neural probe fabricated using polymeric materials to enable deep brain...

This $265,007 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) will support collaborative research to advance the understanding of bacterial swimming motion. The research aims to leverage robophysical modeling techniques from robotics to realistically emulate and study the complex interplay of physical and biological factors governing bacterial motility behaviors. Key objectives include elucidating how fluid mechanical forces shape the ways...

This Project Grant award of $658,000 from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Mathematical and Physical Sciences (CFDA 47.049) program supports Professors Hsin-Chih Yeh and Devleena Samanta at the University of Texas at Austin in developing new types of functional nucleic acid molecules for chemical detection and imaging. The key objectives are to discover catalytic functional nucleic acids that can be transformed into sensitive and selective sensors for diverse chemical and biological...

This Project Grant award from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), under the Discovery and Applied Research for Technological Innovations to Improve Human Health program (CFDA 93.286), provides $821,426 to develop nanostructures that selectively target bacteria and create theoretical models to predict their behavior and interactions with bacteria. The project aims to address the growing problem of bacterial infections, particularly from Staphylococcus aureus...