3D protein structure maps to identify viral pieces in the human virome
Official title: Spatial structure-based annotation of proteins for the NIH Human Virome Program
Funded at Ut Southwestern Medical Center · NIH-11457007 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A project to use 3D protein structures to label unknown viral proteins from many people, helping doctors understand how the gut virome affects health.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R03 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Ut Southwestern Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Dallas, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2026 |
| Project end | August 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $332,000 |
| NIH project number | 1R03DE036205-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11457007 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Individuals whose gut virome samples were collected as part of the NIH Human Virome Program may contribute to this data-driven annotation effort.
✕Less likely to help
Patients not contributing their samples to the virome datasets may not directly benefit from this project.
What this research studies
This project builds an automated pipeline that converts raw viral data from thousands of people into labeled proteins by predicting their 3D shapes. By comparing these structures to known proteins, researchers aim to assign possible functions to many previously mysterious viral components. The approach leverages AlphaFold models and structure-based methods to improve annotation beyond what sequence data alone can reveal. The work could help scientists understand how the human virome influences immunity and digestion, potentially guiding future therapies. It is designed to scale up to process large datasets efficiently and reproducibly.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could unlock functional insights from the human virome that inform health and disease management.
How similar studies have gone: Structure-based protein annotation has shown promise in linking distant homologies; this project aims to extend that approach to viral proteins at scale.
Where this research is happening
-
Ut Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Grishin, Nick V. — Ut Southwestern Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Grishin, Nick V.
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.