Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The University of South Florida received a $705,311 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Division of Environmental Biology under the Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) for the period July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2030. This collaborative research initiative investigates the parallel origin and evolution of venom systems across multiple venomous animal species, leveraging integrative approaches including artificial intelligence (AI) to elucidate how complex traits repeatedly arise and evolve through convergent evolution. The research will examine how venom-related traits—including specialized tissues, gene-regulatory networks for toxin expression, processing, secretion, and storage—have independently evolved more than 100 times across over 200,000 venomous species, identifying the genetic and functional constraints that govern evolutionary trajectories.

The project will generate fundamental scientific outputs including identification of molecular mechanisms underlying venom system convergence, computational tools and AI-driven analyses, and functional insights into how evolution produces complex adaptations. By determining the recurring solutions evolution employs across disparate animal lineages, this research will advance understanding of adaptation principles in evolutionary biology while simultaneously catalyzing biotechnological innovations applicable to the broader bioeconomy through the discovery of functional solutions to common biological problems across the tree of life.