Federal Grant Award Summary

The University of Michigan, through its Office of Research and Sponsored Projects, received a $565,993 Project Grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859) effective June 1, 2026, with a completion date of February 28, 2031. This research initiative focuses on developing next-generation native ion mobility-mass spectrometry (NIM-MS) methods for characterizing biotherapeutics, particularly monoclonal antibody (MAb) therapeutics, nucleic acid drugs (NADs), and related protein and nucleic acid products. The research addresses critical gaps in existing technologies by creating rapid, droplet-based enzymatic chemistries that leverage collision-induced unfolding (CIU) techniques to assess molecular sequences, chemical modification states, higher-order structures, and stability profiles of complex biotherapeutic samples.

The grant supports fundamental biomedical research that will advance analytical capabilities for characterizing biopharmaceuticals—a sector generating over $100 billion in annual sales and treating cancer, autoimmune disorders, and infectious diseases. The project is particularly designed to address challenges in evaluating non-covalent complexes, membrane protein therapeutics, and lipid nanoparticle-packaged nucleic acid drugs, which have been refractory to standard structural biology tools. By developing improved characterization methodologies, this research will enhance the capacity to assess potency, safety profiles, and efficacy of next-generation biotherapeutics.