# Resolving Spatiotemporally-Specific Multicellular Dynamics In Vivo During Olfactory Neurogenesis

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO · 2021 · $319,922

## Abstract

Project Summary
While many neurological defects and disorders are known to result from developmental perturbations in specific
cell types and/or are linked to well-studied signaling pathways, the system-level coordination of multiple cell
populations and the spatiotemporal specificity of their signaling outputs during neurogenesis remains poorly
understood. The long-term objective of this proposal is to take advantage of the accessible and rapidly
developing zebrafish olfactory epithelium to quantitatively characterize cell-cell signaling pathways and
multicellular behaviors that drive the assembly of complex neuronal populations in vertebrates. Proposed
experiments will test the hypothesis that the Notch and Wnt signaling pathways provide spatially- and temporally-
sensitive cues to guide stem cell migration into the olfactory epithelium and regulate sensory neurogenesis.
Small subsets of cells will be manipulated and analyzed completely in vivo, at subcellular spatial resolution and
with sub-minute temporal resolution, so as to determine the system-level coordination of stem cell migration,
specification, and differentiation during both normal and disrupted signaling. First, new tools and techniques will
be used to perturb Wnt signaling in vivo at specific times and locations during olfactory development and to
algorithmically model and explain progenitor cells’ migratory behavior. Next, Notch signaling will be manipulated
in vivo to quantitate its effects on olfactory system-wide neurogenesis, and target genes will be identified that
are required for neuronal specification and/or differentiation. Finally, the transcription factor insm1a will be
similarly investigated to determine its role in Notch signaling-mediated olfactory neurogenesis. The approaches
in this proposal will directly analyze in vivo data to understand and predict multicellular behavior without reducing
biological complexity and help uncover phenotypes that may advance our broad understanding of system-wide
neuronal differentiation and assembly in vivo.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10137285
- **Project number:** 5R01HD100023-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Ankur Saxena
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $319,922
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-04-01 → 2025-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10137285

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10137285, Resolving Spatiotemporally-Specific Multicellular Dynamics In Vivo During Olfactory Neurogenesis (5R01HD100023-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10137285. Licensed CC0.

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