The National Institute of General Medical Sciences awarded St Jude Children's Research Hospital Inc. $153,560 on January 23, 2027, under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859) to define the molecular mechanisms of cytoneme pathfinding and signal dispersal during tissue development.
The research will assess the functional contribution of cadherins to cytoneme navigation and signal deployment, and will build organoid models to interrogate cytoneme dynamics in complex cellular environments. The work addresses how cytoneme-resident adhesion proteins facilitate pathfinding and ligand cargo dispersal over long distances—mechanisms that remain poorly understood despite decades of research into morphogen signaling gradients and long-range intercellular communication during embryogenesis and organogenesis. The project will generate new model systems to assess cytoneme biology in three dimensions and inform understanding of the molecular structure of cytoneme contact points.
Performance occurs in Memphis, Tennessee, with a completion date of August 31, 2029. This is a Project Grant, the assistance type most common under NIGMS's portfolio approach to investigator-initiated biomedical research.