# Precision Mass Spec Imaging Based Structure-Function Signatures of Diabetic Glomerulopathy

> **NIH NIH R43** · SYGNAMAP, INC. · 2022 · $6,500

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
There are currently >450,000 patients on dialysis and ~120,000 patients will have to begin dialysis
each year in the United States. Along with a marked reduction in quality of patient life, the cost to
the US Medicare system is in excess of $114B per year. Therefore, there is an urgent need for
developing new platforms that will enhance the drug development process for new therapies to
reduce the rate of progression to end-stage kidney disease. Non-invasive biomarkers may be
useful but do not directly identify the pathways linked to pathology in the kidney. An approach that
integrates tissue structure with functional readouts in a kidney biopsy would be a major advance.
We are developing a computational platform that leverages mass spec imaging data coupled with
computational pathology for kidney tissue as a technology that will address this unmet need. With
our computational platform we can identify signatures linked to normal and abnormal pathology
on the same tissue section. This is a powerful approach to understand kidney pathology and will
be of great value for drug development for kidney disease. Parameters related to reproducibility
across pre-clinical models of diabetic kidney disease interpretation will be optimized during Phase
I. Upon completion of the SBIR Phase I project we will have rigorous data to determine
consistency of diseased glomerular signatures in diabetic nephropathy. This proof of concept data
will make it attractive to pharma and biotech to adopt this platform for application for their
therapeutic programs for diabetic kidney disease.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10596057
- **Project number:** 3R43DK130732-01A1S1
- **Recipient organization:** SYGNAMAP, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Leila Hejazi
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $6,500
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2021-09-08 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10596057

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10596057, Precision Mass Spec Imaging Based Structure-Function Signatures of Diabetic Glomerulopathy (3R43DK130732-01A1S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10596057. Licensed CC0.

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