Federal Grant Award Summary

Rutgers The State University of New Jersey (RBHS-School of Nursing) received a $811,772 Project Grant award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855), effective June 2, 2026 through May 31, 2031. The award funds investigator-initiated biomedical research aimed at identifying drug tolerance mechanisms in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) glycerol kinase (GLPK) mutants to develop improved treatment approaches for drug-tolerant persister bacilli in tuberculosis patients.

The research project will utilize MTB H37RV GLPK knockout strains as stable, genetically tractable tools to determine the genes and genetic pathways essential for drug tolerance. This work addresses the clinical challenge of drug-tolerant MTB populations that contribute to treatment failure and relapse in tuberculosis patients undergoing lengthy, complex multi-drug regimens. By studying phase variation mechanisms and transcriptional alterations in GLPK mutants cultured under various conditions, the research will generate scientific knowledge to improve understanding of clinically relevant drug tolerance mechanisms and inform the development of more effective tuberculosis therapeutics. The five-year project period will be conducted at the awardee's Newark, New Jersey location.