# FASEB SRC: The Biology of Calpains in Health and Disease

> **NIH NIH R13** · FEDERATION OF AMER SOC FOR EXPER BIOLOGY · 2022 · $30,000

## Abstract

SUMMARY
This R13 proposal is being solicited to provide partial support for a FASEB Summer Research
Conference on “The Biology of Calpains in Health and Diseases”. This conference has become a
vital means for calpain researchers from different disciplines to meet and exchange unpublished data
and expertise. Through these conferences (which occur every three years), productive collaborations
between calpain-focused investigators, clinicians and industry have been facilitated, due to increased
interaction and exposure, which are fostered by the FASEB SRC venues. The meeting has provided an
intellectually engaging forum for information exchange prior to publication and has allowed faculty and
their trainees to learn about emerging research and the availability of rare resources and reagents. These
opportunities effectively increase the interest in calpain research, attract young investigators and propel
new discoveries. Calpains comprise a large family of proteases that are tremendously conserved
amongst species and are ubiquitously distributed in tissues. Since their discovery, there has been
remarkable progress in understanding their diversity, structure, physiological roles and involvement in a
number of diseases. Today, more than 7,000 research articles focus on the calpains. Because of the
increasing relevance of calpains to diseases such as eye diseases, neurodegeneration, muscle and
metabolic diseases, wound healing, gastrointestinal disease, inflammation, and cancer, the field is
continuously expanding. Between the NIH, the DOD and NSF, the federal government invests more than
$33 millions per year in this research area, funding more than 90 projects involving calpain proteases.
The meeting is being co-organized by: Vinit Mahajan, Stanford University, Michel Baudry, Western
University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA, Leah Kottyan, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
and Frederic Brocard, Universite Aix-Marseille, France. The Meeting Advisory Committee includes:
Peter Davies, Queens University, Athar Chishti, Tufts University, Dorothy Croall, University of Maine, Jim
Geddes, University of Kentucky, Peter Greer, Queens University, Canada, and Kevin Wang, University
of Florida. This FASEB-organized meeting is the primary opportunity for calpain researchers
around the world to gather and exchange unpublished data and to synergize research projects
and ideas. Thus, this meeting leverages NIH’s investment and catalyzes progress in the field.
This year Conference has a strong component on Calpains and Eye Disorders, as recent findings
have revealed the roles of various calpain mutations in several eye disorders.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10463281
- **Project number:** 1R13EY033982-01
- **Recipient organization:** FEDERATION OF AMER SOC FOR EXPER BIOLOGY
- **Principal Investigator:** Vinit B Mahajan
- **Activity code:** R13 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $30,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-07-01 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10463281

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10463281, FASEB SRC: The Biology of Calpains in Health and Disease (1R13EY033982-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10463281. Licensed CC0.

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