# Molecular and Cellular Dynamics in Mammalian Signal Transduction

> **NIH NIH R35** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO · 2021 · $574,992

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
This MIRA proposal addresses two important avenues of discovery made by our laboratory. In
Part 1, we will examine the mechanism of allosteric activation by phosphorylation of the MAP
kinase, ERK2. This project advances the protein kinase field, by showing how protein motions
underlie the catalytic activation of ERK2 and how this impacts the action of high affinity
inhibitors. In Part 2, we will examine the mechanisms controlling the assembly and function of a
rear-polarized cellular complex, named the WRAMP structure. The WRAMP structure advances
the field of cell motility, as a new mechanism that controls the persistence of directional cell
migration and the direction of cell movement. The projects are unified by their dissection of
molecular mechanisms that control dynamics in cell signaling. This occurs at a microscopic level
by the molecular motions of protein kinases and at a macroscopic level by the assembly of
cellular protein-organelle complexes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10126880
- **Project number:** 5R35GM136392-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO
- **Principal Investigator:** NATALIE G. AHN
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $574,992
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-04-01 → 2025-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10126880

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10126880, Molecular and Cellular Dynamics in Mammalian Signal Transduction (5R35GM136392-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10126880. Licensed CC0.

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