Seeing membrane proteins inside cell-like membranes with advanced magnetic resonance
Official title: EPR Spectroscopic Studies of Membrane Proteins
Funded at Miami University Oxford · NIH-11260155 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Using advanced pulsed EPR methods to reveal the shapes and motions of proteins in cell membranes that matter for heart disease and cancer patients.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Miami University Oxford NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Oxford, United States) |
| Project start | May 1, 2018 |
| Project end | January 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $388,400 |
| NIH project number | 5R35GM126935-08 |
| Project ID | NIH-11260155 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Although not a clinical trial, people with heart conditions or cancers linked to membrane-protein malfunction could be future beneficiaries and might qualify for downstream translational studies.
✕Less likely to help
Patients seeking immediate treatment or those with conditions unrelated to membrane-protein dysfunction are unlikely to get direct benefit from this basic lab research.
What this research studies
This lab uses pulsed EPR spectroscopy (including DEER and ESEEM) together with membrane-friendly polymers to look at membrane proteins in lipid bilayers rather than detergents. The team refines how samples are prepared so measurements of long-range distances and dynamics are more accurate. Collaborations with other groups focus these methods on proteins tied to heart disease, cancer, and viral biology. The work is laboratory-based with purified proteins and advanced instrumentation rather than a clinical treatment program.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the project could produce clearer structural models of disease-related membrane proteins that help guide new drug development for cardiac and cancer conditions.
How similar studies have gone: Pulsed EPR and DEER have been used successfully to map distances in some membrane proteins, but applying these techniques in native-like lipid bilayers for difficult proteins is still technically challenging and partly novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Miami University Oxford
Oxford, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lorigan, Gary a — Miami University Oxford
- Study coordinator: Lorigan, Gary a
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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.