Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The University of Washington received a $1,368,400 Project Grant awarded on June 1, 2026, by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859). This four-year award, scheduled for completion on May 31, 2030, supports the development of novel analytical tools to identify proline cis/trans isomerization states in protein sequences. The project deliverable involves the creation of a tandem proteolysis approach integrating cold liquid chromatography, proline-specific proteases, ion mobility mass spectrometry, and ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) technology to directly monitor proline configurations across proteins.

This research addresses a significant gap in current analytical capabilities, as determining the correct cis/trans amide bond configuration at prolines—critical for protein folding and associated with disease onset—currently requires high-resolution structural determination or extensive nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments that are often infeasible for larger or complex protein assemblies. The developed methodology will be integrated with existing bottom-up proteomics pipelines, providing researchers with a faster, more capable tool for analyzing proline isomerization in complex samples. The work is performed at the University of Washington's Seattle campus through the Office of Sponsored Programs.