Project Grant R35GM166453

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences awarded the University of New England $390,500 on September 1, 2026, under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859) to probe cell signaling complexity in wound healing using engineered protein materials.

The recipient will investigate how a protein's molecular environment influences its function and how information flows through protein-ligand interactions using engineered proteins and protein-based materials. The work employs biophysical, biochemical, cell-based, and physiological approaches to examine how ligand presentation—soluble, membrane-bound, or within biomaterials—affects receptor binding, signaling, and trafficking. The recipient has developed a stimuli-responsive elastin-like protein polymer that binds vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 and neuropilin-1 and influences vascular endothelial cell survival in vitro. The project will measure binding affinity, kinetics, and stoichiometry of these receptors in different presentation states and explore protein phase separation's influence on receptor interactions. Initial observations showed the polymer accelerates wound pain recovery in mice and localizes to the kidney upon systemic administration, providing opportunities to refine protein biomaterial approaches to understanding the pleiotropic functions of these receptors in pain and to investigate the kidney as a model system for studying wound healing, vascular signaling, and inflammation.

Work is performed in Portland, Maine. The performance period runs from September 1, 2026, through May 31, 2031. The award is structured as a Project Grant, a common assistance type for NIGMS investigator-initiated basic research.