Project Grant R21NS144615

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke awarded The Regents of the University of California, San Francisco $451,000 on September 1, 2026, under the Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders program (CFDA 93.853, Project Grant R21NS144615).

The award funds development of genetic tools and methods for tracking brain lipids in vivo with subcellular precision. The recipient will create genetic approaches to tag lipid tails and track lipid heads in neurons and glia by using genetic induction and subcellular targeting of enzymes that modify lipid tails, followed by mass spectrometry-based proximity lipidomics to determine lipidomic differences between neurons and glia. The work will tag synaptic vesicle and active zone lipidomes in neurons and endoplasmic reticulum lipidomes in glia and neurons. In parallel, the recipient will develop a genetic toolkit for tracking three sphingolipids, two phospholipids, and free sterols at intracellular or exoplasmic leaflets, creating protein domain constructs selective to individual lipid headgroups alongside controls lacking lipid binding capacity. Successful completion will strengthen the ability to track lipids in intact brains across neurons and glia with genetic control, facilitate interpretation of bulk lipidomics datasets by assigning lipids to subcellular locations, and illuminate how neuronal and glial lipids function across health, aging, and neurodegenerative diseases.

Performance takes place in San Francisco, California. The period of performance runs from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2028.