Federal Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) awarded the University of California, Irvine $141,712 under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) for a two-year project spanning February 1, 2026 through January 31, 2028. This Project Grant funds investigator-initiated research to characterize a novel histidine phosphotransfer system in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) that plays a critical role in bacterial virulence and metabolism. The research combines biochemistry, structural biology, and microbiology to examine how the virulence-associated dikinase (VadK) protein physically and functionally interacts with partner proteins to regulate MTB metabolism and pathogenesis, with the ultimate objective of identifying VadK as a novel drug target to interrupt tuberculosis infection mechanisms.

The project directly addresses the urgent public health challenge of antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis strains by investigating fundamental bacterial regulatory systems that could enable targeted therapeutic interventions. By elucidating the mechanism of action of VadK and its role in coordinating metabolism and virulence, the research outcomes will generate foundational knowledge applicable to developing new treatment strategies that disrupt the bacterium's metabolic flexibility and capacity to cause disease in human hosts.