Nanopore Tweezers to Study Kinase Movements and Find Allosteric Inhibitors in Cancers
Official title: Developing a Nanopore Tweezer Toolkit for Analyzing Kinase Structural Dynamics and Screening Allosteric Inhibitors
Funded at University of Massachusetts Amherst · NIH-11529319 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A new technology uses nanopore tweezers to watch how cancer-related kinases move in real time and to screen for drugs that stop them by binding at sites away from the active site.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Massachusetts Amherst NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Hadley, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2025 |
| Project end | August 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $76,877 |
| NIH project number | 3R01GM159415-02S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11529319 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Patients with cancers driven by kinase signaling who may benefit from targeted therapies and personalized treatment approaches.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without access to the specific therapies or in cancer subtypes not affected by the studied kinases may not benefit directly.
What this research studies
This project will develop nanopore-based tools to watch single molecules of kinases as they interact with ligands and inhibitors, capturing movements at very high speed. The goal is to map how kinases change shape during substrate binding, catalysis, and regulation, and to identify allosteric inhibitors that can modulate these processes. By building real-time, single-molecule measurements, the research aims to advance protein analysis and support drug discovery for cancer. The new methods may pave the way for better diagnostics and more personalized treatment approaches. If successful, these tools could become widely used for understanding kinase dynamics in disease.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients could benefit from faster, more precise drug discovery and improved diagnostics for cancers.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work in single-molecule protein analysis suggests that real-time conformational mapping can inform drug discovery, but applying nanopore tweezers to kinases is innovative.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Hadley, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Chen, Min — University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Study coordinator: Chen, Min
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.