Understanding how brain cells move important materials inside them
Official title: Mechanisms of vesicle trafficking and kinesin regulation
Funded at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute · NIH-11123226 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This research helps us understand how brain cells accurately deliver essential proteins to the right places within themselves.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Troy, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2024 |
| Project end | June 30, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $398,909 |
| NIH project number | 5R35GM153259-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11123226 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
This foundational research does not involve direct patient participation.
✕Less likely to help
Patients will not receive direct clinical benefit from this basic science research.
What this research studies
Our bodies rely on cells to move vital building blocks and signals to specific locations. This project aims to uncover the exact steps brain cells use to sort and transport these materials, like proteins, to their correct destinations. We are developing new tools and using advanced imaging techniques on brain cells grown in the lab to watch these processes in action. By focusing on how tiny transport packages, called vesicles, are moved by specialized proteins called kinesins, we hope to learn more about fundamental cell functions. This work could reveal how cells maintain their health and function properly.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could provide foundational knowledge for understanding and potentially addressing diseases where cellular transport within brain cells is disrupted.
How similar studies have gone: While the basic steps of cellular transport are known, this project uses newly developed tools to explore previously uncharacterized mechanisms.
Where this research is happening
-
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Bentley, Marvin — Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- Study coordinator: Bentley, Marvin
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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.