EPSCoR CREST Phase 1: Center for Adaptive Nanomotor Development

The U.S. National Science Foundation's EPSCoR program’s mission is to enhance the research competitiveness of specific jurisdictions (state, territory, or commonwealth) by investing in projects to strengthen institutions’ science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) capacity and capability. In alignment with that mission, EPSCoR CREST Center awards support the establishment of centers in EPSCoR jurisdictions that integrate education and research to promote the advancement of STEM knowledge, enhancements of the research productivity of individual faculty, and an expanded presence of students in those regions in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The EPSCoR CREST Phase I: Center for Adaptive Nanomotor Development, housed at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center – New Orleans, will advance research in the molecular design, energy transduction, and evolution of motor proteins. Tiny protein machines, crucial for all life, convert energy into motion: nearly 100 different biological nanomotors are known to perform a wide range of coordinated cellular tasks under varying and often extreme conditions of temperature, pressure, crowding, and time. Understanding the rules that govern the types and dynamics of nanomotor motion can lead to insights for man-made purposes. This project will deliberately combine nanomotor research with workforce development and potential economic offshoots. For junior faculty and trainees, integration of education and research will grow their scientific perspectives of protein design and mechanics, and also actively encourage development of novel, critical technologies. By enhancing the research capability of the lead and regional partner universities, state-wide interdisciplinary alliances will create the next generation of bioscience leaders, drive new technology-based discoveries, and increase economic impact of research innovations. Mechanical forces are central to canonical biological processes, such as cell division, intracellular transport, and neural communication. This center will focus on understanding how nature integrates different mechanical responses within a single protein scaffold with structural surfaces that can be targeted and engineered. Subprojects will explore how the insertion of inorganic units into nanomotor scaffolds creates new energy conduits, how novel mechanical modes are triggered by external ligands and forces, and how ligands control the transient plasticity of mature neural circuits. Context-dependent adaptation by nanomotors will be probed using neurophysiological, quantum, cellular, bioinformatic, structural, biochemical, biophysical, and computational methods. Traditional mentoring programs of emerging STEM scholars will be enhanced with exposure to technology transfer and non-academic, industry organizations to develop commercial applications of basic science findings. Examples of potential societal applications of the center’s work include nanorobots for manufacturing, energy production, and surgical applications, as well as biomarkers for cancer and neuropathies. These program investments for junior faculty, postdoctoral associates, and students will enhance bioscience and technology, drive competitive research, and transform Louisiana’s research ecosystem. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.