Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) awarded a Project Grant of $469,700 to The Leland Stanford Junior University, effective July 1, 2026 through March 31, 2031, under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859). This award supports fundamental research on the mechanisms of chloride (CLC) channels and transporters, with emphasis on elucidating structure-function relationships, gating mechanisms, and regulatory processes. The research program investigates how CLC proteins operate through two distinct ion-transport mechanisms—electrodiffusive ion channels and secondary active transporters that exchange chloride for protons—and examines the conformational dynamics and ion-binding interactions underlying these transport behaviors. The work is motivated by the clinical significance of CLC dysfunction, which is associated with leukoencephalopathies, retinal degeneration, kidney disorders, bone disease, and bacterial pathogenesis.

The research will be conducted at Stanford University's Palo Alto, California facility using a flexible, hypothesis-driven approach aligned with NIGMS's Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (MIRA) principles. The investigation will focus on the structural basis of CLC channel gating and the regulatory mechanisms of CLC transporters, with particular attention to the roles of membrane lipids and related factors. Over the five-year funding period, the research team will pursue established research questions while remaining adaptable to emerging discoveries, ultimately contributing fundamental knowledge about ion transport mechanisms critical to cellular energy storage and electrical signaling.