Project Grant HDTRA12610008

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) awarded $336,111 to the Regents of the University of California, San Francisco under the Scientific Research - Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction program (CFDA 12.351) on February 25, 2026. This five-year project grant, with completion scheduled for February 24, 2031, supports fundamental research to elucidate the molecular recognition principles governing toxin-binding proteins from diverse biological sources. Specifically, the research focuses on characterizing how frog saxiphilins and pufferfish saxitoxin and tetrodotoxin binding proteins recognize and interact with various guanidinium toxins, including saxitoxin, neosaxitoxin congeners, and tetrodotoxin.

The research conducted at UCSF's San Francisco facility advances scientific understanding of molecular mechanisms relevant to chemical and biological threat mitigation, consistent with DTRA's mission to counter weapons of mass destruction. This foundational research into toxin recognition and binding mechanisms contributes to the development of potential medical countermeasures and defensive capabilities against naturally occurring marine biotoxins and related threats, supporting DTRA's broader objectives in threat reduction and mitigation strategies.