New Grants Power Muscle Science

Two new grants will accelerate atomic-scale research into the molecular mechanisms of cardiomyopathies. In Autumn 2024, CTMR investigator Matthew Childers was awarded a competitive K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the NIH. Childers’ project combines computational simulations of muscle proteins with stem-cell derived cardiomyocytes to create a multiscale platform to assess the molecular origins of cardiomyopathies and develop targeted therapeutics. This platform will streamline research into cardiomyopathies by integrating computational and experimental strategies.  

In Spring 2025, Childers and CTMR Director Mike Regnier were awarded an allocation of computing time on the new Anton 3 supercomputer housed at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC). This is the first year that Anton 3 is available and this cutting-edge resource will allow the team to run high-resolution molecular simulations that provide unprecedented details of the regulatory role of the interacting heads motif. By leveraging Anton 3’s specialized architecture, Childers and Regnier will explore conformational changes in ways previously unattainable with conventional computing power. These grants build on previous research from the Regnier Lab on the regulation of myosin during cardiac muscle contraction, multiscale models of familial cardiomyopathy, and the development of 2’-deoxy-ATP (dATP) as a therapeutic small molecule.