Federal Project Grant Award Summary

Indiana University Indianapolis received a $396,250 Project Grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859), effective March 1, 2026 through February 28, 2031. The award funds fundamental research to decode the structural and molecular architecture of centriolar plaques (CPs), non-centrosomal microtubule organizing centers involved in atypical eukaryotic cell division. The research will employ expansion microscopy (U-EXM) and functional proteomics analyses to map CP composition and dynamics at high resolution, investigating their roles in microtubule organizing center formation, cell polarity, and organelle segregation during cellular division.

The research deliverables include characterization of centriolar plaque components through integrated U-EXM imaging combined with functional analyses utilizing CRISPR-Cas9 technology to generate inducible knockdown cell lines. The project will identify localization patterns and biological roles of both taxon-specific and conserved proteins within centriolar plaques, with findings expected to advance understanding of conserved and divergent principles of eukaryotic cell division and provide a comparative framework for exploring cellular diversity across eukaryotes. This basic research initiative supports NIGMS's mission to increase understanding of biological processes that lay the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.