# Using Integrated Omics to Identify Dysfunctional Genetic Mechanisms Influencing Schizophrenia and Sleep Disturbances

> **NIH NIH P20** · UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS MEDICAL CENTER · 2024 · $233,320

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The proposed work aims to decipher the genetic mechanisms dysregulated in the brains of individuals with
schizophrenia with pleiotropic effects influencing expression of sleep disturbances. The ultimate goals are to
inform genomic driven medical care for improved treatment of insomnia-related symptoms, which are among the
most common co-occurring conditions in these patients. Sleep disruptions in individuals with schizophrenia are
associated with more severe schizophrenia-related symptoms. Healthy sleep is also important for brain
development, indicating that effectively managing sleep disturbances may have significant impacts on reducing
severity of schizophrenia symptoms and improving long-term health outcomes. Characterizing pleiotropic
genetic effects via integration of omics data holds promise for informing precision medicine approaches to
treatment of sleep problems in these individuals. During the last few decades, investigators at the University of
Kansas Medical Center have amassed numerous whole brain specimens from human donors diagnosed with
schizophrenia and confirmed controls. This brain bank reflects a diverse collection of specimens from males and
females with different reported race. This project will generate multi-omics data from sleep-wake regulating brain
regions in these specimens and identify genetic variation impacting function of pleiotropic genes and proteins
evidenced to increase risk for both schizophrenia and insomnia-related symptoms. Genetic risk scores calculated
from sequence data that are useful to predicting risk and aiding in early detection and intervention will be
functionally validated. In addition, this project will comprehensively characterize gene and protein co-expression
connecting two important brain regions known to regulate human sleep behaviors. Combining evidence from the
genome, transcriptome and proteome will allow for discerning the biochemical pathways and genetic
mechanisms dysregulated in sleep-wake regulating brain regions from these patients and help identify proteins
that can be targeted by small molecule compounds to treat sleep problems more effectively. This work should
also provide knowledge of how convergent mechanisms influence risk for multiple disorders in the same
individual. The approaches developed and data generated in this project will provide a rich resource that will be
shared with the larger scientific community allowing for investigations of the sleep regulation network in a diverse
representation of individuals with mental health conditions.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10849365
- **Project number:** 2P20GM130423-06
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Olivia J Veatch
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $233,320
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2019-02-15 → 2029-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10849365

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10849365, Using Integrated Omics to Identify Dysfunctional Genetic Mechanisms Influencing Schizophrenia and Sleep Disturbances (2P20GM130423-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10849365. Licensed CC0.

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