SUMMARY
The BRAIN Initiative seeks to accelerate the development and application of innovative technologies that
ultimately will revolutionize our understanding of the human brain.
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 #
TitleAccessible technologies for high-throughput, whole-brain reconstructions of molecularly characterized mammalian neurons
Investigator
Michael I Miller, Ulrich Mueller
Institute
johns hopkins university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
TitleCell class- or type-specific viruses for brain-wide labeling and neural circuit examination
Investigator
Bosiljka Tasic
Institute
allen institute
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
ABSTRACT
Experimental access to specific cell classes or types in the brain is essential for elucidating their roles in neural
circuit function.
TitleEpigenomic cell-type classification and regulatory element identification in the human brain
Investigator
M Margarita Behrens, Joseph R Ecker
Institute
salk institute for biological studies
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
Understanding the exact cell-type composition in the different regions of the human brain is a fundamental step
when trying to integrate physiological, behavioral, neurochemical and molecular data. At present, although
major categories of cell-types present in the human brain have been
TitleHighly specific, renewable, and cost-effective antibody toolbox for 3D proteomic phenotyping of the brain
Investigator
Kwanghun Chung, Daniel J Eichinger, Ignacio Pino, Heng Zhu
Institute
massachusetts institute of technology
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
System-wide analysis of cell types in the brain is essential for understanding how complex cellular interactions
give rise to various brain functions.
TitleMapping Developmental Lineage Relationships in the Cerebral Cortex
Investigator
Tomasz Nowakowski
Institute
university of california, san francisco
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Summary/Abstract
The cerebral cortex contains an astonishing diversity of neuronal cell types distributed across dozens of
functional areas, which emerge during early development for an apparently uniform neuroepithelium, and the
radial glia cells, which act as neural stem cells.
TitleScaling up spatial RNA profiling with compressed sensing
Investigator
Fei Chen, Yonina Eldar
Institute
broad institute, inc.
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Single cell RNA-Seq (scRNA-Seq) and Imaging Transcriptomics (IT) methods have put a systematic
understanding of the brain and brain diseases through comprehensive 3-dimensional map of its constituent
cell types within reach.
TitleSingle cell isoform expression across mouse brain regions and development
Investigator
Hagen Ulrich Tilgner
Institute
weill medical coll of cornell univ
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Single cell isoform expression across mouse brain regions and development
Much of the mouse brain's biology is defined by the action of long RNA and protein isoforms in distinct cell
types and brain regions.
TitleSingle cell transcriptional and epigenomic atlas of the macaque brain across the lifespan
Investigator
Michael L Platt, Jay Ashok Shendure, Noah Snyder-Mackler
Institute
university of washington
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
ABSTRACT / SUMMARY
New technologies are enabling molecular profiling of single brain cells at remarkable throughput.
TitleCell atlas of mouse brain-spinal cord connectome
Investigator
Hong-Wei Dong, Huizhong Whit Tao, Li I Zhang
Institute
university of southern california
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Although great efforts have been dedicated to characterizing neuronal cell types in the brain, systematic
studies on the brain-spinal cord connectome and associated spinal neuronal types are lacking.
TitleDendritome mapping of genetically-defined and sparsely-labeled cortical and striatal projection neurons
Investigator
Hong-Wei Dong, Xiangdong William Yang
Institute
university of california los angeles
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Integrating molecular, morphological, and connectomic properties is critical for unbiased
classification of neuronal cell types in the mammalian brain.
TitleImaging and Analysis Techniques to Construct a Cell Census Atlas of the Human Brain
Investigator
David A Boas, Bruce Fischl
Institute
massachusetts general hospital
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
TitleToward a human adult brain cell atlas with single-cell technologies
Investigator
Jerold Chun, Kun Zhang
Institute
university of california, san diego
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
Human brain is an exceedingly complex network of spatially organized and functionally
connected neurons imbedded in glia.
TitleTowards integrated 3D reconstruction of whole human brains at subcellular resolution
Investigator
Kwanghun Chung
Institute
massachusetts institute of technology
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
A detailed understanding of the anatomical and molecular architectures of brain cells and their brain-wide
organization is essential for interrogating human brain function and dysfunction.
TitleA Cellular Resolution Census of the Developing Human Brain
Investigator
Eric J Huang, Arnold Kriegstein
Institute
university of california, san francisco
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract
We aim to create a spatiotemporal single cell resolution map of the developing human neocortex in order to
establish how many distinct cell types are present and to unravel their complex developmental history.
TitleA Community Resource for Single Cell Data in the Brain
Investigator
James C Gee, Michael Hawrylycz, Maryann E Martone, Lydia Lup-Ming Ng, Anthony Philippakis
Institute
allen institute
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
A detailed census of the structure and role of cell type specific data in the brain is recognized as one of the most
promising avenues for advancing our understanding of the human brain in health and disease.
TitleA Molecular and Cellular Atlas of the Marmoset Brain
Investigator
Guoping Feng
Institute
massachusetts institute of technology
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The complexity of the mammalian brain is unparalleled by any other organ, and understanding its
cellular composition is essential to understand how it gives rise to cognition and behavior.
TitleA multimodal atlas of human brain cell types
Investigator
Ed Lein
Institute
allen institute
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract:
A Multimodal Atlas of Human Brain Cell Types
Cell types are the building blocks of the brain, including the neuron types forming specific neuronal
circuits responsible for perception, cognition and action, and the non-neuronal elements performing other
essential roles for proper brain fun
TitleAn anatomical cell type atlas of gene expression, morphology and connectivity
Investigator
Hongkui Zeng
Institute
allen institute
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary (Research Segment 2)
The brain circuit is an intricately interconnected network of numerous cell types.
TitleAnatomical characterization of neuronal cell types of the mouse brain
Investigator
Giorgio A Ascoli, Hong-Wei Dong, Byungkook Lim
Institute
university of southern california
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY AND ABSTRACT
A comprehensive understanding neuronal cell type diversity is an essential guide to selective manipulation and
illuminating cell type specific functional contributions toward health and disease.
TitleAnatomy
Investigator
Z Josh Huang
Institute
cold spring harbor laboratory
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
ANATOMY RESEARCH SEGMENT SUMMARY
The overarching goal of neuroanatomy is to establish a structural framework to integrate multiscale and
multi-modal information and to provide a road map that guides the exploration of neural dynamics and brain
function. “Anatomic” neuron types