Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) awarded $396,290 to the Regents of the University of California at Riverside under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859) on August 1, 2026, with completion targeted for July 31, 2031. This project grant supports investigator-initiated basic research investigating cellular programming mechanisms through plant photoreceptor signaling, specifically utilizing phytochrome B (PhyB) signaling and light-triggered developmental transitions in Arabidopsis thaliana. The research focuses on understanding the function of subnuclear membraneless organelles called photobodies in cell signaling and nuclear gene regulation, as well as the mechanisms by which the nucleus coordinates organellar gene expression in plastids and mitochondria through nucleus-to-plastid anterograde signaling pathways.

The project delivers fundamental scientific discoveries that advance understanding of how environmentally regulated photobody formation regulates transcription factor activity to reprogram both nuclear and organellar genomes. This basic research contributes to NIGMS's mission of increasing understanding of biological processes to lay the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention, with potential implications for understanding cellular dysfunction in diseases such as cancer and mitochondrial pathologies. The research will be conducted at UC Riverside's Riverside, California campus, a Hispanic-serving Land Grant institution with significant experience managing federal research grants across multiple NIH institutes.