Federal Project Grant Award Summary

Cornell University received a $375,154 Project Grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859), awarded June 1, 2026, with completion targeted for February 28, 2031. The award supports fundamental research to uncover the structure and function of understudied membrane proteins implicated in human diseases. The research employs Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism combined with advanced methodologies including structural biology, cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), CRISPR-Cas9 (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) genome editing, mass spectrometry, and RNA sequencing to systematically characterize protein structure, interactions, expression patterns, and associated physiological functions.

The five-year project is structured in three phases. Phase I focuses on generating C. elegans alleles and conducting preliminary cryo-EM sample optimization studies. Phase II employs functional and structural analyses using label-free quantification mass spectrometry and RNA sequencing to identify associated signaling pathways and refine cryo-EM sample quality for high-resolution structural determination. Phase III will leverage endogenously expressed proteins to preserve native cellular context. The research outcomes are intended to advance fundamental understanding of understudied membrane proteins and establish molecular mechanisms that may inform therapeutic development for currently incurable rare diseases.