Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) awarded Dartmouth College $449,740 under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859) effective August 1, 2026, through June 30, 2031. This Project Grant supports fundamental research investigating membrane and protein-dependent regulation of cortical patterning during cytokinesis—the cellular process by which dividing cells physically separate into two daughter cells. The research employs both in vitro reconstitution approaches using artificial cell cortex models comprised of supported lipid bilayers and Xenopus laevis egg cytoplasm, as well as complementary single-cell studies, to elucidate the biochemical and biophysical mechanisms underlying cortical excitability, a phenomenon characterized by traveling waves of filamentous actin assembly and disassembly during cell division.

This basic research project addresses fundamental mechanisms of cell division essential to human development and tissue homeostasis. Understanding cortical remodeling dynamics has direct implications for disease states where cell growth and division are dysregulated, including cancer development associated with cytokinesis failure and resulting genomic defects such as aneuploidy. The research outputs will advance the broader scientific understanding of biological processes foundational to advances in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention, consistent with NIGMS's core mission in supporting investigator-initiated biomedical research.