# UC Irvine Center for the production and distribution of cell-type-specific viral targeting reagents

> **NIH NIH U24** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · 2023 · $1,661,217

## Abstract

Project Summary
Gaining genetic access to specific cell types in rodents, non-human primates and other vertebrate species is
critical for enabling targeted circuit manipulations to understand normal brain function and brain. The use of
gene regulatory elements for targeted gene expression is transforming brain circuitry studies. In response to
RFA-MH-21-180, the Center for Neural Circuit Mapping (CNCM) team led by Dr. Xiangmin Xu at the Minority
Serving Institution (MSI)-designated institution, University of California, Irvine (UCI) will collaborate with Dr.
Gordon Fishell’s team at Harvard University and the Broad Institute to produce and distribute reagents developed
by their Armamentarium project, “Systematic identification of enhancers to target the breadth of excitatory and
inhibitory neuronal cell types in the cerebral cortex” (U01MH13070, pending award). Dr. Fishell’s team has
established a novel high-throughput enhancer screening platform using gene regulatory elements that enables
cell type-restricted gene expression in cortical GABAergic interneuron and pyramidal excitatory neuron subtypes
at an unprecedented resolution. This is achieved using adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors for the effective
screening and validation of enhancers for specific neuron types in the mouse, non-human primate, and human
brain. The first goal of our proposed research is to establish close collaborations between the UCI and Harvard
University/Broad Institute teams to scale up and optimize the production of cell-type-specific enhancer-AAVs.
Using our growing Center platform, the UCI team will distribute these viral reagents to qualified investigators in
the neuroscience community for cell-type-specific access and manipulation. The second goal of our research is
to enhance the impact of this project by engaging scientists and students from diverse backgrounds and less
research-intensive institutions that serve minority communities. In Aim 1, the UCI team will form a partnership
with Dr. Fishell’s team to expand seed enhancer-AAV reagents characterized by Dr. Fishell’s team to make a
broad set of tools for cell-type-specific neural circuit studies across vertebrate species. We will leverage our
CNCM existing expertise in neurotropic virus production and distribution to make new helper AAVs based on Dr.
Fishell’s enhancers to improve the precision of genetically targeted specific circuit mapping in the CNS. In Aims
2 and 3, we will coordinate with Dr. Fishell’s pilot U01 project investigators to scale up our UCI CNCM viral
production pipeline and improve our distribution platform to support viral reagent production, validation, and
ample supplies for research community distribution. We will expand our recruitment of team members from
diverse backgrounds facilitated by partnering with Western University of Health Sciences and Morehouse School
of Medicine to include faculty, staff and students of underrepresented minorities for the proposed research. We
will ful...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10664193
- **Project number:** 1U24MH133236-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE
- **Principal Investigator:** GORDON J FISHELL
- **Activity code:** U24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $1,661,217
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-07-15 → 2026-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10664193

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10664193, UC Irvine Center for the production and distribution of cell-type-specific viral targeting reagents (1U24MH133236-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10664193. Licensed CC0.

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