Federal Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) awarded the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) a Project Grant of $422,125 under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) on June 8, 2026, with a completion date of May 31, 2028. The research initiative, titled "Platforms for Targeted Protein Degradation in Mycobacteria," aims to identify and characterize compounds that can serve as the foundation for developing targeted protein degradation drugs to treat tuberculosis (TB). This research addresses a critical public health need, as TB continues to cause more than 1.3 million deaths annually worldwide.

The deliverables under this award consist of research findings across two specific aims designed to establish a new drug discovery platform for TB therapeutics. The first aim focuses on identifying compound classes that directly bind to the ClpC1 protein in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), while the second aim characterizes the structure and function of MTB PafA, an enzyme that labels proteins for proteasomal degradation. The research outcomes are intended to enable the development of bifunctional compounds that recruit TB drug targets to protein-degrading enzymes, potentially transforming TB drug discovery approaches. Performance of this research will be conducted at UNMC's location in Omaha, Nebraska.