# Defining the epigenetic landscape at single cell resolution

> **NIH NIH R35** · OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $382,272

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The epigenetic landscape is driven by thousands of properties influencing transcription and defining cell state
and function. This landscape is established and maintained by a complex configuration of dozens of epigenetic
marks and properties that continually influence one another. When the balance is disrupted the result can be
the programmed transition to a new state, such as in development, or the progression into a disease state. We
aim to apply systems-based logic to understand the most basic circuitry of a cell and how the configuration of
that circuitry locks it in place in its functional role, or drives its differentiation. It has long been established that
the smallest functional unit of an organism or tissue is the cell; however the majority of research is carried out
at the tissue level by pooling thousands to millions of cells and assuming homogeneity. This strategy results in
the obfuscation of latent cell subtypes, for which dozens may be present in any individual population, as has
been revealed by new advances in single cell transcriptional profiling. We have developed a platform for
assessing multiple epigenomic properties genome-wide at the single cell level in high throughput. This platform
does not require specialized equipment, is inexpensive, and is highly robust and versatile. We plan to continue
the development of this platform to profile active regulatory elements and genome structural variation in single
cells, and to adapt the technology to interrogate DNA methylation, chromatin organization, and other
epigenetic properties. In addition to our aims of distributing these tools to broadly benefit the life sciences
community, we will apply these methods to catalogue epigenomic cell subtypes, with a focus on populations
that exhibit strong evidence for the presence of latent subpopulations, and to chart the precise ordering of
events during an epigenomic reprograming cascade. These efforts will not only be of broad use to the life
sciences community, but allow us to ascribe causal relationships between factors that may ultimately impart
phenotypic consequences such as the initiation of a disease state.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10228025
- **Project number:** 5R35GM124704-05
- **Recipient organization:** OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Andrew Adey
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $382,272
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-08-01 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10228025

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10228025, Defining the epigenetic landscape at single cell resolution (5R35GM124704-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10228025. Licensed CC0.

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