Project Grant K99NS151197

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke awarded the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill $110,943 on September 3, 2026, under the Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders program (CFDA 93.853).

The award funds research examining how network dysfunction drives motor control impairments across monogenic neurodevelopmental disorders—specifically Angelman syndrome, Duplication 15q, Pitt Hopkins syndrome, and Rett syndrome. The investigator studies validated mouse models that recapitulate genetic disruptions in these conditions and will quantify motor control through the reach-to-grasp action, an ethologically relevant and evolutionarily conserved behavior studied in both humans and rodents. The mentored phase of the award tests how UBE3A misregulation alters network function to cause motor deficits in Angelman syndrome and Duplication 15q. The research addresses open questions about whether specific features of network dysfunction drive core behavioral impairments, whether disrupted sleep contributes to network dysfunction, and whether shared behavioral impairments across diverse conditions arise from common network dysfunction.

Performance occurs in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with a period of performance extending through August 31, 2028. The award is a Project Grant, an assistance type supporting hypothesis-driven research at a single institution.