# Toward a human adult brain cell atlas with single-cell technologies

> **NIH NIH U01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2022 · $1,721,895

## Abstract

Abstract
Human brain is an exceedingly complex network of spatially organized and functionally
connected neurons imbedded in glia. In surpasses the mouse brain by three orders of
magnitude in terms of sheer numbers of cells, and likely has a more complex organization
structure relevant to human-specific cognitive functions. Defining a complete cell atlas of the
human brain, including a full catalog of all cell types (i.e. all parts) and their spatial distribution,
is a critical step towards understanding the human cognitive machine.
In this project we will greatly expand our previous efforts towards building a complete and
spatially resolved cell atlas of the human whole brain, using a combination of three novel
technologies for scalable single-cell sequencing and in situ imaging. Novel computational
approaches will also be developed for integration and analysis of data at these larger scales.
We will systematically apply these methods to MRI-scanned human whole brains to produce
reference cell maps for female and male brains, and construct a spatial multi-omic map of the
human adult brain.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10450003
- **Project number:** 5U01MH114828-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** JEROLD CHUN
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $1,721,895
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-08-22 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10450003

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10450003, Toward a human adult brain cell atlas with single-cell technologies (5U01MH114828-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10450003. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*