Federal Grant Award Summary

Yale University received a $125,000 Project Grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859), effective February 1, 2026 through January 31, 2028. The award supports fundamental biomedical research investigating how developmental metabolic flux influences the physicochemical properties of the cell nucleus, with particular focus on polyamine biosynthesis and its role in regulating nuclear mechanics during cellular differentiation.

The research deliverables include two primary objectives: (1) characterizing the mechanisms by which polyamines alter nuclear mechanics through osmotic flux using force spectroscopy and genetically encoded osmotic stress reporters, and (2) determining whether cells actively regulate osmotic effects on nuclear envelope tension during differentiation to drive cell fate transitions through functional assays and genomics approaches in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional culture models. This investigator-initiated basic science research is designed to advance understanding of how metabolic regulation interfaces with mechanical cellular properties to control cell state transitions, with applications toward disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.