# Unraveling the molecular origins of chronic parenchymal lung diseases

> **NIH NIH U01** · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · 2024 · $940,320

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY: Single-cell genomic studies have transformed our understanding of the cellular
organization and plasticity of the human lung, providing substantial insights into molecular pathways active in
end-stage lung diseases including pulmonary fibrosis (PF), bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and others. A
common theme emerging across these studies is that there is a profound loss of highly specialized cells and
cellular phenotypes in advanced lung diseases. The critical signals responsible for tissue organization and
cellular specialization during lung development occur in three-dimensional space, and spatial context is critical
to understand the intercellular communication mechanisms, and relationships among different cell types and
states that establish and maintain distal lung “niche specialization”. These observations lead us to
hypothesize that perturbations of cell-cell signaling in the alveolar niche lead to loss of cellular specialization,
and disease-specific programs of progressive pathologic remodeling in PF, BPD and other chronic lung
diseases. The goal of this LungMAP3.0 Research Center is to identify key molecular targets at the early stage
of disease most amenable to stabilization or reversal. Our specific aims are to: 1) Develop a spatially-resolved
molecular atlas of chronic parenchymal lung diseases, 2) Define mechanisms of niche dysregulation that result
in the progressive histopathologic patterns of chronic lung diseases across the lifespan and 3) Investigate the
transcriptional regulatory mechanisms through which niche-perturbations promote and prevent disease
progression. We have assembled a team of investigators with a strong history of productive collaboration who
offer expertise in chronic lung diseases that manifest across the lifetime and share a deep commitment to rapid
and transparent data sharing in support of the lung biology community. We are excited to partner with other
LungMAP Research Centers, the Data Coordinating Center and Human Tissue Core as we leverage state-of-
the-art single-cell and spatial transcriptomic approaches that enable interrogation of archival samples from
highly unique cohorts of early-stage lung disease as we investigate the molecular origins of alveolar niche
dysregulation in IPF, other forms of interstitial lung disease, and BPD.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10975485
- **Project number:** 1U01HL175444-01
- **Recipient organization:** VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Nicholas Eli Banovich
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $940,320
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-01 → 2029-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10975485

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10975485, Unraveling the molecular origins of chronic parenchymal lung diseases (1U01HL175444-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10975485. Licensed CC0.

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