The National Institute of General Medical Sciences awarded Southern Methodist University $399,927 on August 1, 2026, under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859) to investigate the molecular mechanisms of desiccation tolerance in anhydrobiotic organisms.
The research deciphers how certain animals survive near-complete absence of water by identifying and characterizing protective molecules—specifically late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins and small heat shock proteins (sHSPs)—that stabilize cellular structures during extreme dehydration. The investigator has previously isolated potent desiccation-protective 11-mer motifs from LEA proteins and demonstrated that sHSPs limit protein aggregation during water loss. Current work focuses on revealing the molecular mechanisms underlying these protective functions, contextualizing them across different cellular components and tissue types in living organisms, and employing functional screening methods to expand the repertoire of known protectants. The research carries potential applications to pharmaceutical storage and distribution, enabling room-temperature stabilization of vaccines, peptides, cells, and other biomedically relevant materials without dependence on cold-chain infrastructure.
The award supports work performed at Southern Methodist University's Dallas, Texas campus. The period of performance runs from August 1, 2026, through June 30, 2031. The assistance type is a Project Grant.