Federal Grant Award Summary

St. John's University received a $249,574 Project Grant award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859) effective July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027. The award funds the acquisition and installation of a Shimadzu LCMS-8045RX triple quadrupole liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) system with Nexera XS ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) instrumentation and ancillary equipment. This analytical instrument serves as a critical shared research infrastructure resource for the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, enabling sensitive quantification of small and macromolecules for drug discovery, pharmacokinetics, metabolomics, biodistribution, and biomarker research applications.

The instrument will support research initiatives across six faculty members and their graduate students enrolled in the Department's doctoral programs in drug discovery, pharmacology, drug delivery, nanotechnology, and toxicology. Research applications include synthesis and characterization of novel drug classes including proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs), evaluation of tumor and cellular uptake of nanomedicines, drug delivery system characterization, and pharmacokinetic studies. The vendor-provided training plan and three-year service contract ensure operational capability and technical support. The equipment will also enhance graduate-level education through two pharmaceutical sciences courses and will be made accessible to other St. John's University departments and nearby community colleges, thereby expanding research capacity across the institution.