Dan Summers, Assistant Professor of Biology, received a 5-year R01 award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The title of the project is “Defining Proteostasis Networks in Axon Segments.” Failures in protein homeostasis can lead to the toxic accumulation of misfolded proteins and aggregates that threaten the nervous system. This project will identify new pathways that function in specialized compartments within neurons to regulate protein homeostasis and protect the nervous system from neurodegeneration.

The award is funded through NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and is considered a Stephen I. Katz Early Stage Investigator Research Project Grant, which supports innovative science projects for early stage investigators.