Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The University of Washington received a $233,250 Project Grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) under the Cardiovascular Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.837), awarded on June 18, 2026, with a completion date of May 31, 2028. This award funds AI-guided structural biology research on the L-type calcium channel CAV1.2, a critical protein in cardiac excitation-contraction coupling. The research deliverables include development of an artificial intelligence-informed structural platform for the CAV1.2 C-terminal domain (CTD)—a 571-residue region previously unresolved through cryo-electron microscopy—and validation of this platform through protein-protein interaction studies with known binding partners including calcium/calmodulin and autoregulatory fragments.

The grant will generate foundational structural biology data supporting future investigations into CAV1.2 regulation and protein-protein interactions. Research activities include computational structure prediction using artificial intelligence methodologies, biochemical validation of predicted protein-protein interactions, and crystallization attempts of the CTD in complex with identified binding partners. These outputs will establish the structural and mechanistic basis for understanding CAV1.2's regulatory roles in cardiac calcium signaling and sympathetic nervous system cross-talk, with direct relevance to cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment objectives supported by the NHLBI.