Federal Grant Award Summary

The University of Massachusetts Medical School received a $435,829 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 through January 31, 2031. The Alkema Lab will conduct fundamental research investigating gut-brain communication mechanisms that regulate behavioral state transitions in the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans. The research specifically examines how the nervous system integrates internal physiological states and environmental cues to prioritize competing behavioral drives, including the dynamic interplay between tyramine (invertebrate adrenaline analog) and serotonin in coordinating escape responses versus feeding behaviors.

The project deliverables include the development and application of advanced tools to simultaneously track animal behavior and intestinal calcium dynamics in real time, identification of novel genetic mutants that disrupt intestinal calcium rhythms, and characterization of molecular mechanisms through which neuromodulators regulate gut physiology and function. The research aims to define how physiological states such as hunger, satiety, and stress are encoded in the gut and communicated to the brain, leveraging C. elegans' defined neural circuits, genetic tractability, and optical transparency as a model system. Findings are expected to establish foundational knowledge of neuromodulatory control mechanisms relevant to understanding behavioral prioritization and internal state regulation across biological systems.