# Nebraska Center for Integrated Biomolecular Communication (CIBC)

> **NIH NIH P20** · UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA LINCOLN · 2022 · $2,244,875

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Regulation of biomolecular communication pathways is critical to maintaining physiological function. Unraveling
these pathways and filling in critical knowledge gaps will provide novel opportunities to understand, diagnose,
and treat human diseases. During Phase 1, the Nebraska Center for Integrated Biomolecular Communication
(CIBC) supported 15 early stage investigators (ESIs), helped recruit four new faculty members to the University
of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), and established two research cores. CIBC’s ESIs secured $16.7 million in external
research funds and authored 82 peer-reviewed publications. Building on Phase 1, the goal of the CIBC in Phase
2 is to continue building a critical mass of biomedical investigators and supporting research infrastructure in the
area of biomolecular communication pathways at UNL that will position CIBC for a successful transition to long-
term sustainability in Phase 3. CIBC will continue to develop multidisciplinary teams to interrogate complex
disease pathways, especially by connecting researchers developing new molecular probes and analytical
techniques with those unravelling molecular mechanisms of human diseases. CIBC’s Phase 2 specific aims
are to: 1) strengthen UNL’s biomedical research infrastructure by supporting the research efforts and career
development of biomedical investigators whose research is broadly focused on understanding the regulation of
biomedically relevant communication pathways; 2) enhance research capabilities by maintaining and expanding
the Systems Biology Core (SBC) to facilitate acquisition of essential bioanalytical data and the Data and Life
Sciences Core (DLSC) to provide critical bioinformatics support and data management, storage, and sharing to
Center members; and 3) advance interdisciplinary research collaborations with broad disciplinary representation
to pursue high-impact research into complex disease from diverse perspectives. The initial Phase 2 Project
Leaders will pursue projects interrelated by their fundamental focus on different aspects of the biomolecular
basis of disease-associated communication pathways. These projects, which signify CIBC’s interdisciplinary
nature, are directed toward: 1) developing novel chemical probes and targeted mass spectrometry approaches
to study the cocaine and amphetamine-regulated transcript peptide and receptor(s), 2) understanding how the
7SK RNP regulates transcription and its implications in human diseases, 3) conducting near real-time detection
of methicillin-resistant S. aureus by developing a generalizable electrochemical peptide-based biosensing
platform, and 4) developing a novel Unnatural Amino Acid-based Chromatin Isolation Method (UChIMe) with
improved accuracy and sensitivity. CIBC will further expand SBC and DLSC to enable Nebraska’s biomedical
researchers to pursue high-impact biomedical research. CIBC’s innovation is in integrating the research activities
of chemists, biochemists, engineers,...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10488641
- **Project number:** 5P20GM113126-07
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA LINCOLN
- **Principal Investigator:** Jiantao Guo
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $2,244,875
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-08-15 → 2026-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10488641

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10488641, Nebraska Center for Integrated Biomolecular Communication (CIBC) (5P20GM113126-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10488641. Licensed CC0.

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