Federal Grant Award Summary

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio received a $1,035,946 Project Grant award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of the Director under the Research Infrastructure Programs (CFDA 93.351) for the period July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. The award funds the permanent integration of a LUMICKS C-TRAP DYMO optical tweezers system into the Structural Biology Core at UT Health San Antonio. This specialized instrumentation enables single-molecule visualization and manipulation of biomolecular interactions in real time, addressing a critical capability gap for researchers studying intrinsically disordered proteins, phase-separated condensates, and force-sensitive macromolecular complexes that cannot be fully characterized using traditional structural biology methods.

As the first and only C-TRAP DYMO system in Texas, the equipment will be made available as an open-access shared research resource supporting over a dozen NIH-funded investigators across the institution working in genome maintenance, transcriptional regulation, and cancer biology. The integration into the existing Structural Biology Core—which currently provides cryo-EM, X-ray crystallography, and nuclear magnetic resonance services—will expand the institutional capacity to conduct real-time mechanistic studies of protein and nucleic acid assemblies responding to binding partners, ligands, and mechanical forces. This infrastructure investment is expected to enhance research continuity and accessibility for the growing community of structural, cancer, and cellular researchers at the institution.