# An Atlas of Human Brain Cell Variation

> **NIH NIH UM1** · BROAD INSTITUTE, INC. · 2022 · $14,907,240

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The human brain exhibits profound diversity in biological function and vulnerability to disease. Despite the
biomedical and cultural importance of inter-individual variation, we know relatively little about its underlying
cellular and molecular substrates. In this work we will leverage new technologies in single-cell and spatial
genomics to construct an Atlas of Human Brain Cell Variation. We will analyze tens of millions of cells from more
than 200 people by single-nucleus RNA-seq and single-nucleus ATAC-seq, and a subset of these by spatial
transcriptomics. Analysis of these data will seek to understand: the static versus dynamic molecular and spatial
features of each cell type; the ways in which human genetic variation shapes the molecular repertoire of each
cell type; and the constellations of cellular and molecular features that co-vary, appearing together in the same
brains. We seek especially with this work to understand the functional connections between these phenotypes
and: (i) the gene regulatory processes that drive and shape it; (ii) genetic variation associated with brain
diseases; and (iii) structural brain variation measured in hundreds of neuroimaging studies. The project will
deliver an essential data resource for cellular, molecular, genetic and translational neuroscience – while
expanding our understanding of the ways the human brain varies across different people.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10523654
- **Project number:** 1UM1MH130966-01
- **Recipient organization:** BROAD INSTITUTE, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Evan Z Macosko
- **Activity code:** UM1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $14,907,240
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-13 → 2027-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10523654

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10523654, An Atlas of Human Brain Cell Variation (1UM1MH130966-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10523654. Licensed CC0.

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