Image: University of Georgia researcher Pengpeng Bi received a pair of National Institutes of Health grants in September: a Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (MIRA, 2022–2027) and an Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Award (R21, 2022–2024). The $2.3 million awards will support efforts to uncover the molecular mechanism of human muscle development and homeostasis. The MIRA is a funding mechanism to provide support for a program of research in an early-stage investigator’s laboratory that falls within the mission of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, which funds basic research that increases our understanding of biological processes and lays the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. The R21 award will support the discovery of unknown genetic factors that control muscle cell fusion, thereby providing fundamental knowledge required to enhance human muscle development and function in patients where cell fusion is defective. Read More: Franklin College Article
