Project Grant R35GM165563

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences awarded the University of Florida $386,985 on July 23, 2026, under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859) to conduct a five-year investigation into the structure-function relationships of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) in biological systems.

The research will develop methods to probe structured ssDNA in cells, with initial focus on two biomedically relevant lines of investigation. The first examines complex ssDNA structures in the displaced strand of R-loops—branched nucleic acid structures composed of an RNA-DNA hybrid with a displaced DNA strand that play multifaceted roles in gene regulation and other biological processes. Dysregulated R-loops are associated with cancers, neurological disorders, and rare diseases; the award supports mapping these complex structures to understand their functional impact. The second investigates ssDNA viruses, which represent a major component of the Earth virome with biomedical, ecological, and economical relevance and infect hosts across all domains of life. The underlying research premise addresses a significant gap in understanding ssDNA structure-function relationships compared to the well-characterized structures of RNA and proteins.

Work is performed at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida through the Division of Sponsored Research. The period of performance runs from July 23, 2026, through April 30, 2031. This is a project grant, the primary assistance type for investigator-initiated basic research supported by NIGMS.