Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) awarded The Leland Stanford Junior University a Project Grant totaling $440,750 under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859) to support fundamental research on cholesterol-protein interactions in bacteria. The award, effective June 1, 2026, through February 28, 2031, will fund a five-year investigator-initiated research project examining sterol lipid biosynthesis, function, regulation, and transport in bacterial species. The research builds on prior discoveries regarding de novo cholesterol synthesis in bacteria and aims to advance understanding of how bacterial species produce and utilize cholesterol, with potential implications for human health and disease prevention.

The project represents a strategic shift from studying lipid biosynthesis pathways to investigating the functional roles and regulatory mechanisms of sterols in microbial systems. Research will be conducted at Stanford University's facility in Palo Alto, California, and is expected to generate novel insights into bacterial sterol metabolism that may inform broader understanding of cholesterol's role in cellular processes and disease states, including cardiovascular disease and lysosomal storage disorders. The award supports the type of basic biomedical research that NIGMS prioritizes to establish foundational knowledge for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.