Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) awarded $422,125 to the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska through its University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) division on July 15, 2026, under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859). This five-year project grant, extending through June 30, 2031, supports investigator-initiated basic biomedical research investigating chromatin remodeling mechanisms and their role in gene regulation and cellular differentiation. The funded research focuses on elucidating how the BAF (Brahma-Associated Factor) ATP-dependent nucleosome remodeler complex partners with distinct chromatin regulatory mechanisms to establish locus-specific and cell type-specific gene expression programs during development and disease states.

The research deliverables will systematically investigate the crosstalk between BAF and transcriptional regulatory machinery, including RNA polymerase II and DNA-sequence-specific transcription factors, to advance understanding of genome-wide nucleosome remodeling mechanisms and chromatin accessibility. The project will examine how BAF regulates facultative heterochromatin and determine the functional roles of BAF subunits in both transcription activation and repression, with implications for understanding mutations in BAF genes linked to developmental disorders, neurological diseases, and approximately 20 percent of all cancers. This basic research effort contributes to NIGMS's mission of advancing understanding of fundamental biological processes to support advances in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.