# Transcriptome dynamics during vocal fold injury and repair

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · 2024 · $26,204

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Vocal fold (VF) scarring is the single greatest cause of poor voice after vocal fold surgery and can have a
significant negative impact on quality of life. VF scarring is characterized by disorganization in the extracellular
matrix (ECM) of the lamina propria as well as alterations in the integrity of the surrounding epithelium and an
overall reduction in VF pliability. There is no treatment that can eliminate formed scars or reverse scar
formation. Research specific to vocal fold scarring has been limited by a lack of understanding of the
contributing subpopulations of cells and cell state dynamism in the context of injury space. The overall goal of
this work is to eluicate subpopulations, location, and proximity of cells that contribute to the VF injury response
and repair in vivo. Aim 1 will use single cell RNA sequencing analysis to identify the subpopulations of cells
present during injury and healing, as well as genes that are differentially expressed (DE) between and among
them to determine where cell-specific changes in the transcriptome are important. Aim 2 will investigate spatial
differential expression using spatial RNA sequencing analysis to identify niches enriched for distinct gene sets
and localize cell subpopulations to the VF in space and time during wound healing and repair. The central
hypothesis of this mentored research training proposal is that there are subpopulations of cells – immune,
fibroblasts and epithelial cells that respond to injury, and that these cells’ spatial location and proximity to each
other have a significant effect on coordinated gene expression. This proposal will identify participating cell
subpopulations and map gene expression positional identities to niches in the VF during inflammatory,
proliferative, remodeling and mature scar phases of wound healing to inform targeted regenerative
approaches.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10782482
- **Project number:** 5F31DC021113-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
- **Principal Investigator:** Kristy DeRhea Wendt
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $26,204
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-02-01 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10782482

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10782482, Transcriptome dynamics during vocal fold injury and repair (5F31DC021113-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10782482. Licensed CC0.

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