Federal Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) awarded The Johns Hopkins University a $420,936 Project Grant effective April 1, 2026 through March 31, 2031, under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859). This award supports fundamental research investigating the mechanisms of protein self-assembly coupled to membrane mechanics in clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME), an essential cellular pathway for transporting extracellular cargo into cells. The research will employ biophysical modeling and computational simulations to determine how lipid and cargo binding control the nucleation and growth of clathrin-coated structures, addressing key questions about cargo-dependent regulation of vesicle formation and the transition from flat lattices to curved vesicles. The project will generate predictive models regarding cellular responses to phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) and cargo inhibition, accompanied by experimental validation of simulation predictions.

This award advances fundamental understanding of a critical cellular transport mechanism with implications for disease pathology and normal biological processes including organism development and neurotransmission. The research bridges a significant gap between in vitro assembly observations and in vivo cargo-dependent mechanisms, providing insights that will enhance understanding of cargo uptake under both healthy and diseased cellular conditions.