Project Grant 2307044

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $1,501,418 Project Grant to the University of Texas at Arlington to fund a collaborative research project examining snake venom systems as a model for understanding the structure and evolution of regulatory networks underlying organism-level physiological traits. The project, which runs from August 1, 2023 to July 31, 2027, aims to advance fundamental understanding of how new gene regulatory networks arise and how variation in these networks shape complex physiological traits. Key objectives include developing novel statistical approaches to link genomic and regulatory variation with cellular and evolutionary trait variation, as well as mentoring and training programs for undergraduate and graduate students in integrative biology.

The research involves sub-awards to the University of Colorado-Denver, University of Northern Colorado, and the Division of Agriculture of the University of Arkansas to contribute expertise and support the overall project goals. This work falls under the NSF Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074), which funds basic research to promote scientific progress and enhance understanding of major problems confronting the nation.