# Integrating primate-rodent cell types and epigenomics to identify conservation in substance addiction

> **NIH NIH F30** · CARNEGIE-MELLON UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $51,036

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Substance use disorders (SUD) of many highly addictive drugs affect more than 100 million people worldwide.
Genetic variations associated with complex neuro-behavioral traits, such as drug addiction, are likely to impact
enhancers which have a high degree of cell type-specificity and can be conserved across species. Furthermore,
variation in addiction behavior has been linked to genetic variation in both human and rodents. Thus, it follows
that genetic mechanisms driving addiction behavior, specifically at cell type-specific enhancers, might also be
conserved between primates and rodents. I hypothesize that risk variants for some SUDs may lie in enhancers
of distinct cell types in the reward areas and not others, providing insight into the cell types that are critical to
SUDs. This project proposes to identify the gene markers and putative enhancers of cell types that are conserved
or clade-specific to primates and rodents and of these, which are enriched for SUD human genetic risk variants.
The proposal comprises of the following aims: Aim 1: identify the primate-rodent conserved cell types and marker
gene profiles enriched for human SUD risk variants. Aim 2: identify the primate-rodent conserved putative
enhancer profiles to test whether mouse substance use behavior risk loci disrupt similar putative conserved
enhancers to human SUD risk loci. Together, these experiments could reveal primate-rodent gene and enhancer
atlas of conserved and species-specific cell types of the reward system by integrating single-nuclei genomics
data across multiple mammalian species. This information is critically important because better understanding
of how an individual’s genetic makeup could affect the cells of the reward circuit will inform future work to craft
personalized, targeted SUD therapy. Thus, this work integrates closely with my clinical interests in addiction
medicine. This proposal outlines a combination of rigorous mentored research training, longitudinal clinical
experiences, coursework, and professional and leadership development activities. The intellectual, technical,
and professional skills refined during this fellowship training period will be instrumental in my development as an
aspiring physician scientist in the clinical field of addiction medicine.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10143371
- **Project number:** 1F30DA053020-01
- **Recipient organization:** CARNEGIE-MELLON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** BaDoi Nguyen Phan
- **Activity code:** F30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $51,036
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-02-05 → 2025-11-04

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10143371

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10143371, Integrating primate-rodent cell types and epigenomics to identify conservation in substance addiction (1F30DA053020-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10143371. Licensed CC0.

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