Project Grant R21HD111775

The Research Foundation For The State University Of New York, doing business as Stony Brook University, received a $428,536 Project Grant award from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) under the Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.865). The award is for a project titled "Novel Functions for NMDARs in Neural Crest Development" that will study the role of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) in the development of the neural crest, a multipotent cell type that gives rise to various neural and non-neural tissues. The project aims to determine whether NMDARs broadly modulate neural crest proliferation, migration, or act on specific neural crest lineages, as well as elucidate the mechanisms by which NMDAR activity impacts neural crest development. Findings from this research may have implications for understanding neurodevelopmental disorders associated with NMDAR dysfunction. The project period runs from September 6, 2023 to August 31, 2025.