Federal Project Grant Award Summary

Yale University received a $2.014 million Project Grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859) effective June 1, 2026, with completion targeted for May 31, 2030. The award funds development of a synthetic biology tool designed to engineer proteins with multiple posttranslational modifications (PTMs) and elucidate their binding functions. The project leverages Genomically Recoded Organisms (GROs)—organisms possessing open codons that enable precise placement of distinct PTMs individually or in combination—to create an integrated genome and protein engineering high-throughput platform. This platform will systematically differentiate protein-protein interactions governed by multiple PTMs, addressing a critical gap in understanding how PTMs dictate organizational principles of cellular proteins in human cells.

The research platform, designated HI-P (a protein engineering system where phosphorylation sites and phosphoprotein binding are genetically encoded), will enable systematic definition of PTM-dependent interactions that cannot currently be separated from non-modified complexes in mammalian cell-based studies. The deliverables include development of enabling GRO tools and comprehensive characterization of how PTMs influence cellular organization and function, with direct applications to precision biologics development and identification of new drug targets for disease treatment. Research will be conducted at Yale University's West Haven, Connecticut facility.