Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The University of Minnesota's Office of Sponsored Projects Administration received a Project Grant award of $373,737 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859), effective April 1, 2026 through January 31, 2031. This R35 Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (MIRA) supports fundamental research investigating the dynamics of motile flagella in fluid media. The research addresses critical gaps in understanding how bacterial and eukaryotic flagella interact with their fluid environments, with specific focus on: (1) elucidating the synchronized dynamics of prokaryotic flagella that enable bacterial flagellar bundle formation essential for motility and chemotaxis, and (2) developing advanced imaging techniques to map three-dimensional fluid flow generated by beating eukaryotic flagella and their mutants to understand normal and dysfunctional flagellar function relevant to ciliopathies treatment development.

The project deliverables include development of novel physical model systems and advanced imaging methodologies to resolve flagellar dynamics at high spatial and temporal resolution in real-time. By combining these experimental approaches with theoretical analysis, the research will provide fundamental insights into fluid-mediated flagellar mechanisms across multiple biological domains, thereby establishing foundational knowledge applicable to understanding diverse cellular processes including motility, sensory perception, and fluid transport while supporting future therapeutic development for ciliary dysfunction disorders.