Project Grant R01NS146721

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, a component of the Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health, awarded ST Jude Children's Research Hospital Inc. $462,500 on August 15, 2026, under the Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders program (CFDA 93.853).

The award funds research into transcriptional mechanisms underlying cell fate specification and maintenance during neural development. The project investigates how TEAD transcription factors and INSM1 (insulinoma-associated 1), a zinc-finger transcription factor, coordinate to promote neural gene expression while simultaneously repressing the muscle lineage during cerebellar development. The research addresses the molecular-level mechanisms by which cell fate-determining transcription factors establish and maintain distinct gene expression programs essential for normal development and seeks to explain how activation of one cell fate lineage is coupled with repression of distant, unrelated lineages. Loss of TEAD function results in complete neural-to-muscle lineage conversion and severe cerebellar malformation; the research hypothesizes that TEAD and INSM1 function independently of Hippo signaling during cerebellar development to enforce lineage fidelity.

Performance extends from August 15, 2026, through April 30, 2031, at ST Jude Children's Research Hospital Inc. in Memphis, Tennessee. The award is classified as a Project Grant and carries an assistance type designation consistent with NIH extramural research funding mechanisms.