The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) awarded a 5-year, $706,404 Project Grant under the Mental Health Research Grants program (CFDA 93.242) to Thomas Jefferson University to conduct research on the pathophysiological roles of protein-protein interactions at excitatory synapses and their modifications in schizophrenia. The research aims to determine how defects in specific protein-protein interactions impact NMDA receptor function in schizophrenia and explore potential strategies to rescue these defects.
The study includes a sub-award to Tulane University to support postdoctoral and graduate student researchers who will contribute to experiments examining nano-scale molecular events, protein-protein interaction alterations, and the impact of schizophrenia-related mutations on synapse organization. The sub-award funding of $21,632 will help advance the overall research goals of the project.