The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) awarded Rejuvenation Technologies Inc. (RTI) a $324,998 Project Grant under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859) to develop efficient, well-tolerated vehicles for in vivo delivery of mRNA to three types of progenitor cells. RTI aims to expand the utility of their telomere extension biologic, telomerase (TERT) mRNA, and their lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery vehicle by adding progenitor cell targeting capability. This Phase I project will involve generating a library of rationally designed peptides targeting progenitor cells, screening candidate peptide targeting ligands computationally, and performing in vivo screening to identify the most efficient LNP formulations for transfecting the target cell types. The goal is to produce vehicles capable of delivering therapeutic mRNA to progenitor cells, advancing RTI's telomere extension technology and enabling potential out-licensing opportunities with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners.