# Organ Specific Project - Bone Marrow

> **NIH NIH U54** · CHILDREN'S HOSP OF PHILADELPHIA · 2020 · $440,434

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY – BONE ORGAN SPECIFIC PROJECT
The bone is a highly complex organ made of three tissue types with distinct functions, including cells from
hematopoietic, mesenchymal and endothelial lineages. Confined within one organ and thoroughly mixed with
each other, these three tissues are mutually dependent for their development and homeostasis. The spatial
organization of the various cell types and their cross-talk in the bone is a major gap of our knowledge. The goal
of the bone Organ Specific Project (B-OSP) is to address this knowledge gap and generate high quality, single-
cell resolution, longitudinal imaging and multi-omics data of normal bones across the human lifespan. We
propose the following three specific aims: 1) To refine protocols for biospecimen processing, multi-omics and
imaging assays and define inter-individual variability using our existing banked bone samples. Using existing
biobanked normal bones from the autopsy program, we will perform a series of pilot studies to refine our
protocols for biospecimen collection and processing, as well as single-cell omics and imaging assays. 2) To
procure, archive, and annotate high-quality normal bone samples across human life span. We have
established a streamlined procurement and biorepository infrastructure to support our bone OSP. We will
procure normal bone from the same donor of 6 age groups across the human life span. 3) To spatially profile
bone specimens across the human life span using a set of robust and scalable imaging and single-cell omics
assays. We will use micro computed tomography to image every bone we collect at both the macroscale and
mesoscale. At the microscale, we will perform single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-Seq) and single-cell
assay for transposase-accessible chromatin using sequencing (scATAC-Seq) of two strategic anatomical sites
per bone to determine cell type composition, as well as transcriptional and epigenetic signatures. We will
perform multiplexed error-robust fluorescence in situ hybridization (MERFISH, for transcriptomics) and Co-
Detection by Indexing (CODEX, for proteomics) analyses.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10118853
- **Project number:** 1U54HL156090-01
- **Recipient organization:** CHILDREN'S HOSP OF PHILADELPHIA
- **Principal Investigator:** KATHRIN M BERNT
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $440,434
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-01 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10118853

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10118853, Organ Specific Project - Bone Marrow (1U54HL156090-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10118853. Licensed CC0.

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