Federal Project Grant Award Summary

Cornell University received a $404,864 Project Grant award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859), effective May 22, 2026, with a completion date of March 31, 2031. The award supports fundamental research into quantitative membrane contact site biology in macroautophagy (autophagy)—an intracellular degradation process critical to cellular homeostasis and implicated in neurodegeneration, metabolic disease, and cancer. The research aims to develop mechanistic and quantitative understanding of autophagosome biogenesis, the formation of double-membrane organelles essential to cellular waste degradation and metabolite recycling.

The funded research will produce scientific advances in understanding the committed regulatory steps controlling autophagosome formation, including the mechanisms of phospholipid transfer across membrane contact sites. The project deliverables will include development of a general, quantitative, and predictive model of autophagosome biogenesis during non-selective autophagy, with findings applicable to understanding how cells regulate the number, size, duration, and substrate scope of autophagosomes in response to intracellular and environmental challenges. These research outcomes are intended to advance foundational knowledge with broad implications for human disease prevention and treatment across multiple disease areas.