Federal Project Grant Award Summary

Georgia TECH Research Corp received a $432,850 Project Grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859), with an award date of June 1, 2026 and completion date of January 31, 2031. The award supports computational research to understand protein dynamics and allostery in biomedically important enzymes through biomolecular simulations. The project will deliver detailed computational analyses exploring the links between conformational dynamics, allosteric regulation, and function in two sets of key enzymes: PRIA and TRPC (central enzymes of tryptophan biosynthesis) and the Eyes Absent protein tyrosine phosphatase EYA2. Research outputs will include mechanistic insights into loop dynamics and catalysis, understanding of allosteric regulatory mechanisms, and novel computational tools for mapping residue and water communication networks in proteins.

The research directly addresses drug development priorities, as the selected enzymes are important drug targets for treating tuberculosis (tryptophan biosynthesis enzymes) and multiple cancers (protein tyrosine phosphatases). By leveraging computational simulation to characterize enzyme conformational dynamics, the project will generate fundamental knowledge that can inform both drug discovery efforts targeting enzyme dynamics and protein engineering strategies for developing new enzyme therapeutics. The work will also establish these enzymes as model systems for understanding regulation of ubiquitous protein folds through catalytic loop dynamics and related mechanisms.