# Systematic Brain-Body Communication and Personalized Aging Trajectories

> **NIH NIH DP2** · BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE · 2024 · $1,440,000

## Abstract

Project summary (16 lines):
The brain constantly communicates with the rest of the body through a complex network of nerves,
hormones, and immune cells. Brain-body communication is crucial for maintaining homeostasis
and overall health. This communication can be affected by aging, as some parts of the brain
shrink, some nerve cells lose their connections, and some blood vessels become clogged [1].
These changes can impair the brain’s ability to send and receive signals to and from the body,
resulting in cognitive decline and physical deterioration. Therefore, studying how aging affects
brain-body communication is essential for finding ways to prevent or treat age-related conditions
and to promote healthy aging. Meanwhile, brain-body communication during aging is a complex
and dynamic process that varies among individuals. To unlock the potential for personalized
interventions, a deep comprehension at the individual level is paramount. Yet, comprehensive
exploration of cellular-level brain-body communication in individuals has remained challenging
due to a dearth of suitable tools and model systems. My proposal seeks to introduce an
interdisciplinary approach, integrating an innovative single-whole-organism single-cell
sequencing platform and cutting-edge machine learning methodologies, to construct aging
trajectories. This innovation aims to elucidate age-induced alterations in brain-body
communication at the individual resolution, enabling a profound understanding of these dynamics
in complex organisms.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10907888
- **Project number:** 1DP2AT013275-01
- **Recipient organization:** BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Hongjie Li
- **Activity code:** DP2 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $1,440,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-01 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10907888

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10907888, Systematic Brain-Body Communication and Personalized Aging Trajectories (1DP2AT013275-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10907888. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*