# Single-cell analysis and synthetic control of mammalian chromatin dynamics and gene regulation

> **NIH NIH R35** · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $389,617

## Abstract

Project Summary:
 Predictable mammalian cell engineering is essential both for advancing quantitative biology and
realizing the promise of precision medicine. In order to develop a predictive framework for cell engineering, we
need to understand how gene regulation functions in the context of a dynamic chromatin environment.
 While the last few years have witnessed a boom in genetic and epigenetic editing tools, there are still
major challenges for measuring and predicting the effect of chromatin on gene expression. First, chromatin-
mediated control results in cell-to-cell heterogeneity of gene expression, so many questions are difficult to
answer with methods that average across cells. Second, in most experimental designs the chromatin state and
DNA composition vary at the same time, making it difficult to disentangle the role of chromatin alone. Third,
chromatin regulation spans multiple molecular mechanisms and length-scales, making it difficult to integrate
these data into a coherent predictive model.
 In order to address these challenges, we will develop and combine new tools in synthetic biology,
single-cell techniques, and mathematical modelling. We will directly manipulate the chromatin state via
recruitment and release of chromatin regulators at a defined locus, and then measure the outcome in single
cells over time using time-lapse microscopy, flow cytometry and next generation sequencing. Finally, we will
build a mathematical model that integrates molecular details at a specific locus with the overall chromatin state
in the same cells.
 We will use these tools to answer essential questions about the role of chromatin dynamics on gene
regulation: (1) Why do different cell types have different silencing dynamics and epigenetic memory? (2) How
fast and how far do chromatin modifications and their effects spread? (3) How do transcription factors at
promoters and enhancers interact with chromatin regulators to determine gene expression?
Together, the answer to these basic questions and the development of new techniques for measuring,
controlling, and modeling gene expression will advance both mammalian synthetic biology and the basic
biology fields of chromatin and gene regulation.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10198945
- **Project number:** 5R35GM128947-04
- **Recipient organization:** STANFORD UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Lacramioara Bintu
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $389,617
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-07-05 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10198945

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10198945, Single-cell analysis and synthetic control of mammalian chromatin dynamics and gene regulation (5R35GM128947-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10198945. Licensed CC0.

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