Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), received a $410,545 Project Grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859) beginning July 1, 2026, with a completion date of June 30, 2031. This five-year research initiative investigates cell polarity signaling mechanisms that drive collective epithelial cell behaviors essential for tissue development and maintenance. The project integrates complementary research approaches utilizing Drosophila border cell migration models—leveraging their genetic power and single-cell resolution capabilities—with pancreatic organoid experiments to establish physiologically relevant findings. The research focuses on the protein Scribble, which regulates cell adhesion and Rho-family GTPase activity and is frequently amplified or misregulated in human cancers.

The project delivers fundamental scientific knowledge through experimental research designed to define how polarity signaling stabilizes cell adhesion, sculpts small GTPase activity in vivo, and regulates lumen formation, force generation, and morphogenesis under mechanical confinement. Research outcomes will establish a unified framework of how polarity signaling generates emergent epithelial behaviors across molecular to tissue scales, with applications extending to understanding how cancer cells exploit polarity pathways to adapt to stiff, fibrotic microenvironments. This basic research advances the broader scientific understanding of collective cell migration and growth principles while providing conceptual models relevant to cancer biology and cell behavior under mechanical stress.