# Mechanisms and impacts of chromatin looping

> **NIH NIH R35** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2024 · $456,600

## Abstract

Project Abstract
Chromatin looping is thought to play a critical role in gene regulation, human development, and response to
external stimuli by connecting regulatory loci with gene promoters. Most chromatin loops are thought to form
via loop extrusion; however, recent work has uncovered loops and other chromatin structures formed via phase
separation. How these loops form and how they impact gene transcription and other phenotypes remains
poorly understood in part because they have only been studied in a handful of contexts and in part because
we lack the adequate tools to study them. The goal of this research is to develop new computational and
experimental tools to study 3D chromatin structure and to apply these tools to understand the mechanisms
and impacts of phase separation-driven chromatin loops. We will map and characterize phase separation-
driven chromatin loops formed in response to various external stimuli (project 1). We will develop experimental
tools to manipulate these loops and apply them to explore their mechanisms of formation, quantify their
impact on gene transcription, and identify molecules that can disrupt them (project 2). And we will develop
computational tools that will enable robust analysis, interpretation, and visualization of these newly discovered
3D chromatin structures (project 3). The results of this research will determine both the scope and general
principles of phase separation-driven looping and provide new tools for the gene regulation community.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10764606
- **Project number:** 2R35GM128645-06
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** Douglas H. Phanstiel
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $456,600
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2018-07-19 → 2028-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10764606

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10764606, Mechanisms and impacts of chromatin looping (2R35GM128645-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10764606. Licensed CC0.

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