Project Grant R21ES038413

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences awarded $240,000 to the University of Texas at Austin on September 1, 2026, under the Environmental Health program (CFDA 93.113) to investigate how environmental metals including nickel and cadmium alter DNA and chromatin structures and gene expression.

The research will determine the effects of metal exposure and cytosine methylation on non-B DNA formation, chromatin assembly, and gene expression in mammalian cells. The project hypothesizes that exposure to environmental metals stimulates epigenetic modifications that induce alternative DNA structures—such as Z-DNA and H-DNA—which impede transcription progression by stalling RNA polymerases, thereby dysregulating gene expression. Specific aims include determining how cytosine methylation affects non-B DNA structure formation and chromatin conformation, and characterizing the mechanisms by which metal-induced epigenetic changes modulate transcription through alterations in DNA and chromatin conformations. The work is intended to identify novel approaches to attenuate metal-induced dysregulation of gene expression.

The award funds research conducted at the University of Texas at Austin in Austin, Texas, with a performance period from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2028. The assistance type is a Project Grant, classified as R21 funding within the National Institutes of Health portfolio. The University of Texas System is the parent organization of the University of Texas at Austin.