# Production and Validation of monoclonal antibodies to enhance rigor and reproducibility in research vertebrate animal model

> **NIH OD R24** · UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST · 2026 · $475,525

## Abstract

Project Summary
Animal models are critical for biomedical research. They allow us to rapidly test the importance of any
gene for development or diseases. Advances in technology now allow us to reduce or eliminate protein
expression in the entire animal or in selected tissue. Similarly, mutations in the coding sequence of a
gene associated with a disease can be introduce in animal model to test if they are indeed responsible
for the disease state. Antibodies are critical tools to study protein localization and function. They can
be used to block a protein function, send it for degradation, immunoprecipitate partners associated with
the protein to identify functional complexes. While companies have focused on developing antibodies
to human proteins, and to a lesser extend to mouse proteins, there is a need for antibodies that
recognize proteins in diverse animal models. Despite the close similarity of protein sequences between
human and mouse, many antibodies do not cross react. In addition, some proteins that have been
recently identified or studied have not been targeted. Here we propose to produce antibodies against
selected proteins in mouse, and amphibian (Xenopus and Axolotl) to facilitate the work in these animal
models.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11327224
- **Project number:** 5R24OD038109-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST
- **Principal Investigator:** DOMINIQUE R ALFANDARI
- **Activity code:** R24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** OD
- **Fiscal year:** 2026
- **Award amount:** $475,525
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2025-05-15T00:00:00 → 2029-04-30T00:00:00

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11327224

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11327224, Production and Validation of monoclonal antibodies to enhance rigor and reproducibility in research vertebrate animal model (5R24OD038109-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-07-16 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11327224. Licensed CC0.

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