Federal Project Grant Award Summary

Augusta University Research Institute, Inc. received a $555,000 Project Grant award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) under the Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders program (CFDA 93.853), effective May 7, 2026, with a completion date of April 30, 2029. The award funds development of a novel optogenetic assay system designed to probe intracellular transport mechanisms in neurons, specifically addressing defects in microtubule-based transport that contribute to neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases. The research will create artificially inducible cargo systems with high spatial and temporal control to assess motor protein function, including both expressed and endogenous motors, without disrupting normal neuronal function.

The project delivers a complementary research tool that advances existing methodologies by enabling researchers to study intracellular transport of RNA, synaptic proteins, and membrane components within living cells. This optogenetic approach overcomes limitations of current purified systems and endogenous organelle-based assays by providing a controlled platform to investigate transport defects associated with neurological disease pathophysiology. The research is performed at Augusta University Research Institute's facilities in Augusta, Georgia, a nonprofit research subsidiary with substantial experience managing federal biomedical research funding across multiple neurological and neuroscientific domains.