Project Summary / Abstract
Astrocytes are pervasive throughout the CNS and are the most abundant non-neuronal cell type. They
are an essential component of neural circuits, and increasing evidence demonstrates they are specialized for
specific brain regions.
Funded Awards
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) BRAIN Initiative funds a wide-variety of research: toolmakers, trainees, individual labs testing new hypotheses, and large, team-based efforts aiming to catalyze neuroscience inquiry forward. Explore NIH BRAIN Initiative funded awards listed below. Click on the project title to learn more about it within NIH RePORTER.
To see more NIH-funded awards and associated publications, please visit the NIH RePORTER.
Title
Investigator(s)
Institution
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunity #
Project #
TitleMolecular identity, cellular physiology, and in vivo functions of nucleus accumbens astrocytes
Investigator
Kay Elizabeth Linker
Institute
university of california los angeles
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
TitleMolecular recording to predict cell fate decisions and animal behavior
Investigator
Joseph D Dougherty, Robi D Mitra
Institute
washington university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
The brain is remarkably complex, and our understanding of this organ is still in its infancy. Many
fundamental questions about brain development and function remain.
TitlemRNA Alternative Splicing Regulatory Networks in the Specification of Cortical Interneuron Subtypes
Investigator
Melissa Mckenzie Campbell
Institute
columbia university health sciences
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract
Alternative splicing of pre-mRNAs is extensively employed by the nervous system to expand the transcriptomic
manifold.
TitleMulti-feature, Multi-scale Atlas
Investigator
Paul S Katz
Institute
university of massachusetts amherst
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
SUMMARY / ABSTRACT – Project 1. Multi-feature, Multi-scale Atlas
Project 1 of the Berghia Brain Project is to create a multi-scale, multi-feature atlas of the Berghia brain and
peripheral neural plexus.
TitleNABOR: A Sustainable, High-quality Neuroscience Antibody Open Resource
Investigator
Melina Fan
Institute
addgene, inc.
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
The goal of this project is to build an open-access recombinant antibody/affinity reagent resource for the
neuroscience community called NABOR (Neuroscience AntiBody Open Resource).
TitleNational Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research: A BRAIN Technology Integration and Dissemination Resource
Investigator
Mark H Ellisman
Institute
university of california, san diego
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
This project aims to disseminate validated technologies and resources of the National Center for Microscopy
and Imaging Research (NCMIR) at UC San Diego to advance the completion of strategic goals of the BRAIN
Initiative.
TitleNeural dynamics of somatosensory guidance of dexterous movement in intact and stroke-injured networks
Investigator
Preeya Khanna
Institute
university of california, san francisco
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Stroke-causing illness, disability, and early death is set to double worldwide within the next 15 years.
TitleNeural mechanisms of multisensory auditory-olfactory integration in the auditory cortex
Investigator
Nathan Vogler
Institute
university of pennsylvania
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Living organisms interact with complex environments that are inherently multisensory. Within these
environments, the brain must integrate information from multiple sensory modalities, including the auditory and
olfactory systems, for perception and behavior.
TitleNeural Mechanisms of Social Communication in Parrots
Investigator
Jesse Heymann Goldberg
Institute
cornell university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
When Confucius said, “Tell me who are your friends, and I’ll tell you who you are,” he was noticing that how we
behave and communicate is shaped by who we choose to hang out with every day. We constantly mimic the
mannerisms and behaviors of friends and loved ones.
TitleNeuroExM
Investigator
Jacob R Glaser
Institute
microbrightfield, llc
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
This project describes the development of NeuroExM™, a highly innovative system for performing
comprehensive spatial distribution analysis of populations of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and proteins in tissue
processed for expansion microscopy (ExM)).
TitleNeuroJSON - A Scalable, Searchable and Verifiable Neuroimaging Data Platform
Investigator
Qianqian Fang
Institute
northeastern university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Traditional file-based neuroimaging data management and integration strategies have shown
increasing limitations in accommodating the meteoric growth in both the scale and complexity of today’s
neuroimaging data.
TitleNext-generation MORF Mice for Scalable Brainwide Morphological Mapping and Genetic Perturbation of Single Neurons
Investigator
Hong-Wei Dong, Xiangdong William Yang
Institute
university of california los angeles
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
A major challenge in studying the mammalian brain is to characterize the integrative properties of
individual neurons, such as molecular profiles, complete morphology (dendrites, axons, synapses),
connectivity, and activity; furthermore, this must be done at a scale that is commensu
TitleNIPreps: integrating neuroimaging preprocessing workflows across modalities, populations, and species
Investigator
Oscar Esteban, Michael Peter Milham, Russell A Poldrack, Ariel Shalom Rokem, Theodore Satterthwaite
Institute
stanford university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
Despite the rapid advances in the neuroimaging research workflow over the last decade, the enormous
variability between and within data types and specimens impedes integrated analyses.
TitleNovel high-field MRI compatible subdural electrode and acquisition system for recording and stimulation in small animals
Investigator
Hernan Millan
Institute
emri systems llp
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
Preclinical small animal imaging makes valuable contributions to improving
our understanding of human brain.
TitleOpen-Access AAV Toolbox for Basal Ganglia Cell Types and Circuits
Investigator
Trygve Bakken, Tanya Lynn Daigle, Boaz Pirie Levi, Jonathan T Ting, Bosiljka Tasic
Institute
allen institute
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
We propose to leverage new and existing transcriptomic and epigenetic datasets from mouse, marmoset,
macaque and human brain to develop refined approaches for brain cell type enhancer selection for creating cell-
type specific enhancer adeno-associated viruses (AAVs), and to make inr
TitleOpenScope: A Platform for High-Throughput and Reproducible Neurophysiology Open to External Scientists to Test Impactful Theories of Brain Function
Investigator
Christof Koch, Jerome Anthony-Jean Lecoq
Institute
allen institute
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project summary
Over the past five years, the Allen Institute has built two unique in-house pipelines for in vivo electro- and
optical-physiology: together they form the Allen Brain Observatory.
TitlePlatform technologies for scalable highly multiplexed proteomic phenotyping of the brain
Investigator
Kwanghun Chung, Hong-Wei Dong, Matthew P Frosch, Guoping Feng, Peng Yin
Institute
harvard university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
The complexity of the mammalian brain is unparalleled by any other organs, and understanding its cellular
composition and their brain-wide organization is essential to understand the brain functions and dysfunctions.
Extensive efforts have been made toward mapping brain cells through various lenses,
TitlePrinciples of sensorimotor processing in zebrafish thermosensation
Investigator
Martin Haesemeyer
Institute
ohio state university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
SUMMARY
It is our long-term goal to understand computations that underlie sensori-motor transformations in the context
of thermoregulatory behaviors. Generating appropriate behaviors in response to sensory stimuli is critical for
the survival of any animal.
TitleProject 2
Investigator
Anna Devor
Institute
boston university (charles river campus)
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
We propose to investigate the role of neuromodulation in the phenomenon of “whole-cortex” activity of
the pial neurovascular circuit.
TitleRedefine Trans-Neuropsychiatric Disorder Brain Patterns through Big-Data and Machine Learning
Investigator
Peter V. Kochunov, Paul M Thompson
Institute
university of maryland baltimore
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
This application will combine the strengths of two large scale NIH-funded initiatives to understand disorder-
related patterns in the human brain: Connectomes Related to Human Disease (CRHD) and Enhancing
Neuroimaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis (ENIGMA).