WWU’s Jay McCarty secures prestigious $676,000 CAREER grant from the NSF

WWU Assistant Professor of Chemistry Jay McCarty has been awarded a $676,280 CAREER grant by the National Science Foundation, the foundation’s most prestigious award in support of early-career faculty. 

The five-year grant will support McCarty’s research into a class of proteins called intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). 

Unlike other proteins, IDPs are highly flexible. 

“IDPs don’t settle into just one shape,” McCarty said. “Instead, they are constantly wiggling and shifting between different forms, like a shapeshifting puzzle piece."

Despite not having a fixed structure, the proteins are still able to carry out highly specific functions and often play key roles in maintaining cellular health. However, their high flexibility also makes them prone to sticking together.  In recent years scientists have discovered that the proteins do this by separating from the rest of the fluid material inside like cell — like oil separating from water — to form droplet-like structures, called biomolecular condensates, that help regulate activities inside the cell.

But sometimes, the proteins join into twisted bundles of proteins, known as neurofibrillary tangles — and it is these bundles that are often associated with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson’s and ALS. 

McCarty studies how IDPs move, how and why they stick together, and how they form either neurofibrillary tangles or biomolecular condensates. He does this by utilizing computer simulations to view how the proteins move in three dimensions, then using mathematical models and machine learning to predict how changes in a protein’s environment affect how the molecules assemble. 

All of this will help us understand how the protein molecules organize themselves and, ultimately, how we might one day control them to treat diseases. 

It could also inspire the design of new biomaterials that can have practical applications in medicine, biotechnology and material science — materials like sensors or drug delivery systems that could change their properties in response to triggers like pH, salt concentration or temperature. 

McCarty’s award is the 16th CAREER award received by Western since 2000, half of which were awarded in the last five years. 

“Professor Jay McCarty’s achievement continues a strong tradition of excellence in our department. He is the third faculty member from the chemistry department in five years to earn this honor, a testament to the strength and impact of our program,” Chemistry Chair Greg O’Neil said. “His innovative research on protein dynamics is advancing our understanding of complex biological processes, while his commitment to integrating that research with education is equipping students with vital skills in computation and programming.”

McCarty’s grant will fund 10 undergraduate and three graduate researchers. It will also support a two-day workshop on computational methods in molecular science that will allow Western students to get hands-on training and foster collaboration between researchers. 

“Undergraduate research is a hallmark of the Western experience, and I’m excited to continue in that tradition of mentoring the next generation of scientists,” McCarty said. “Sometimes in science, it can feel like your work happens in isolation, so it’s an incredible honor to be recognized and it’s validating of the work we are doing.” 

McCarty said that the award will open new opportunities for experimental collaborations that would not have been possible otherwise. 

“I’m especially excited about building partnerships both here at Western with colleagues in the chemistry and biology departments and internationally with a collaboration with researchers at the University of Bordeaux in France,” he said. “With this grant, we aim to bridge a longstanding gap between experiment and simulation.”

Some of his collaborative partners are Professor of Chemistry John Antos and Associate Professor of Biochemistry and fellow CAREER awardee Jeanine Amacher, who McCarty works with on bacterial sortase enzyme research, and Associate Professor of Biochemistry Serge Smirnov, whose research group aims to connect simulation data with nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy measurements of proteins. 

Dean of the College of Science and Engineering Janelle Leger said the CAREER award is indicative of the quality of work McCarty contributes to Western.

"This prestigious award is reflective of Dr. McCarty's cutting-edge research program, along with his strong record of collaboration and exceptional student mentorship,” she said. “It also exemplifies the qualities that make Western generally, and the College of Science and Engineering and the Chemistry Department specifically, stand out: our student-first approach which both provides uniquely impactful experiences for students and results in nationally-recognized research and scholarship."

Learn more about McCarty’s work on the McCarty Research Group homepage. 

Mikayla King (‘17) covers the College of Science and Engineering and Woodring College of Education for University Communications. Reach out to her with story ideas at kingm24@wwu.edu.