Project Grant R01NS146994

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke awarded the University of Massachusetts Medical School $551,557 on August 15, 2026, under the Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders program (CFDA 93.853) to investigate nucleic acid sensing pathways in demyelinating disease.

The funded research dissects the role of endosomal toll-like receptors (eTLRs) in neuroinflammation and demyelination, specifically examining how aberrant eTLR signaling in microglia—when triggered by clearing cell debris containing DNA and RNA—drives neuroinflammation in chronic neurological disease including multiple sclerosis. The project leverages demyelinating models and prior findings that mice lacking eTLR signaling through loss of the molecular chaperone UNC93B1 exhibit decreased T cell infiltration in demyelinating lesions, increased mature oligodendrocytes, and enhanced remyelination, with evidence pointing to TLR13 as the critical single-strand RNA sensing receptor.

The award supports work performed at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts, with a period of performance from August 15, 2026, through May 31, 2031. This is a Project Grant, the standard extramural research mechanism under NINDS, evaluated on scientific merit, technical adequacy of experimental design, investigator competency, facility adequacy, and budget necessity as determined through peer review by technical panels and the National Advisory Neurological Disorders and Stroke Council.