{"id":152022,"date":"2025-09-22T15:14:47","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T20:14:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=152022"},"modified":"2025-09-22T15:14:48","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T20:14:48","slug":"pharmacy-professor-receives-nih-grant-to-study-protein-mutants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/pharmacy-professor-receives-nih-grant-to-study-protein-mutants\/","title":{"rendered":"Pharmacy Professor Receives NIH Grant to Study Protein Mutants"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jing Li to combine molecular simulation and AI to pursue ways to diagnose treat sodium channel disorders<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By Marisa C. Atkinson<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A University of Mississippi<\/strong> pharmacy professor will use a new grant from the National Institutes of Health<\/strong> to delve into how tiny changes in a cell’s proteins can lead to large health problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\u00a0NIH\u00a0awarded Jing Li<\/strong>, assistant professor of\u00a0medicinal chemistry<\/a>\u00a0and research assistant, a five-year grant for $1.74 million. The project’s goal is to find ways to prevent those future health problems, which can include brain and heart ailments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He and his research group are studying how tiny changes, or mutations, in a cell’s electrical communications, or voltage-gated sodium channels, can affect a person’s health. Sodium channels are essential for nerve and muscle function in the body, but disease can strike when mutations occur, Li said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There are hundreds or even thousands of amino acids in each protein,” he said. “But with a single acid substitution or change, it can cost normal function. That eventually leads to diseases.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mutations in sodium channels are linked to diseases such as epilepsy, autism, heart arrythmias, chronic pain, and even paralysis, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the mutations can be studied thoroughly, researchers hope to better predict a person’s health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“But simply knowing the DNA changes isn’t enough,” he said. “There are some very big mysteries \u2013 sometimes the same mutation, in the same position (of the protein sequence) can cause different diseases in different patients.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To better understand this occurrence, Li and his Ole Miss team will use molecular dynamic simulation, or a computational microscope, to assist them in visualizing \u2013 by zooming in \u2013 and studying the proteins in motion. Through this simulation, they can learn how the mutations can change the proteins’ function at the atomic level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We also study how natural chemical ‘tags’ on these proteins, known as post-translational modifications, interact with mutations to make symptoms better or worse,” he said. “By piecing together these molecular details, we hope to uncover why certain genetic changes cause disease and identify opportunities for more precise treatments.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The work promises to help improve health care for people in Mississippi and across the country, said Donna Strum<\/strong>, dean of the School of Pharmacy<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

“Dr. Li’s work exemplifies the power of scientific discovery to directly impact patient care,” she said. “This prestigious grant not only recognizes his innovative approach to understanding complex diseases but also highlights how our faculty are leading the way in advancing precision medicine.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The grant allows Li to use his research to acquire data that he can use to develop an artificial intelligence, or a machine learning model to better diagnose patients and treat them more quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“These tools will allow us to rapidly predict the impact of new mutations, providing insights far faster than traditional lab experiments alone,” he said. “Then, we can use this model to make predictions for the new changes or mutations and determine whether the change is benign or pathological, which can help make the diagnosis much easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Ultimately, our goal is to combine simulation and AI to develop better ways to diagnose and treat patients with sodium channel disorders, paving the way for personalized medicine and safer, more effective drugs for conditions that currently lack good therapies.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This material is based on work supported by the National Institutes of Health<\/a> grant no. 1R35GM160133-01.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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