Clockwise from left: Dr. Kenworthy, Dr. Bao, Dr. Ilya Levental, Dr. Tamm, Dr. Kandice Levental. Pictured in center is Dr. Kiessling. (contributed photo)
Six University of Virginia School of Medicine researchers were awarded $8.4 million from the NIH National Institute of General Medical Sciences to study how lipids regulate the functional organization of cellular membranes. The interdisciplinary group of UVA researchers includes Huan Bao, PhD, Anne Kenworthy, PhD, Volker Kiessling, PhD, Ilya Levental, PhD, Kandice Levental, PhD, and Lukas Tamm, PhD, in Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics (MPBP).
Lipids are biomolecules that are made from the fats that we consume. The membranes they form are involved in all aspects of cellular communication with the outside world including importing nutrients, exporting wastes, and mediating trans-cellular communication in all cell types, from neurons to immune cells. More than 60% of targets for clinical pharmaceuticals are proteins embedded in cell membranes. While the basic organization of cell membranes has been a driving paradigm of biology for over 50 years, only recently has it become clear that many fundamental mysteries remain about the organization of membranes and how they support cellular life.
Through this team science grant, the researchers, housed in the UVA Center for Membrane and Cell Physiology (CMCP), will explore an emerging hypothesis for how membrane lipids regulate the functions of membrane proteins. This hypothesis – termed the functional paralipidome – may explain how changes in a protein’s lipid environment control protein function and cell physiology. The changes occur in response to various physiological triggers, metabolic changes, and various disease states, making the paralipidome hypothesis a potentially far-reaching tool to understand critical aspects of human health.
“This major RM1 award is an outstanding accomplishment for Anne, Ilya, and their collaborators. The project exemplifies the kind of ambitious, team-based science the CMCP was created to foster,” said CMCP Director Huiwang Ai, PhD. “By bringing together complementary expertise, the team is opening an important new frontier in our understanding of the paralipidome and its potential roles in human health and disease.”
Ling Qi, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics, said the award reflects years of creative thinking, persistence, and collaboration. “I am thrilled to see the team receive this well-deserved recognition. It is especially gratifying to see such an ambitious project emerging from the strong scientific community in the center and the department,” stated Dr Qi.
Dr. Tamm, founder of the CMCP and a co-PI on the new grant, was instrumental in recruiting the talented researchers who are part of this project. The group would also like to acknowledge their collaborator, Edward Lyman, PhD, from the University of Delaware, who is providing critical support in computational modeling of complex membranes.