Project Grant R35GM162630

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences awarded The Leland Stanford Junior University $1.924 million on August 5, 2026, under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859) to investigate how nuclear mechanical properties regulate cell functions independently of gene expression.

The research examines whether and how mechanical properties of the nucleus—including size, stiffness, and integrity—control essential cellular processes such as migration, proliferation, differentiation, and immune cell pathogen killing, separate from transcriptional effects. The work builds on the principal investigator's prior findings demonstrating nuclear deformability's role in cell migration through confined spaces and identifying suicidal netosis, a transcription-independent process during which neutrophils rupture the nucleus and cell membrane to release antimicrobial chromatin. The research program addresses a gap in understanding how dysregulation of nuclear mechanics—linked to aging, cancer, and cardiovascular disease—can be therapeutically targeted without inducing pleiotropic gene expression effects.

The award funds work performed at Stanford's Palo Alto, California campus from August 5, 2026, through July 31, 2030. This is a Project Grant, classified as assistance funding under NIGMS's portfolio of investigator-initiated basic biomedical research grants designed to advance understanding of biological processes and lay foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.