# in vivo imaging of transplanted human induced-Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPSC) derived neurons to model neurological and psychiatric disorders

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER · 2020 · $477,552

## Abstract

Project Summary
Affecting over 1% of the world’s population, including 3 million Americans, schizophrenia is a
debilitating psychiatric disorder characterized by an array of symptoms including hallucinations,
delusions, difficulty expressing emotions, and deficits in attention and memory. Despite the
currently available antipsychotics, patients suffering schizophrenia have a life expectancy 10
years lower than that of the general population, are prone to substance abuse, homelessness,
and are at risk of suicide. As a result, both the toll exacted on the lives of individuals suffering
from the disorder and the public health costs are substantial. There is currently no cure for
schizophrenia, and research into the causes of the disease, including the anatomical and
physiological disruptions in the brain, has been difficult because little is known about the
underlying pathology of cells in patients.
 To elucidate the anatomical and physiological deficits found in the patients with
schizophrenia, this proposal will develop a novel model for the disorder by transplanting
reprogrammed human induced- Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) into an animal system and
imaging the structure and function of these cells in vivo. In Aim 1, this project will develop the
technologies needed to perform structural characteriation of human iPSC-derived neurons
including developing methods to analyze neural circuit structure and anatomical dynamics. In
Aim 2, this project will develop technologies needed to image the population calcium activity of
human iPSC-derived neurons in vivo and develop new analysis methods for studying and
characterizing this acitivity. In Aim 3, this project will apply these technologies to characterize
the structure and spontaneous activity patterns of human iPSC-derived neurons in vivo. Taken
together, this work will develop a powerful new platform for dissecting the structure and function
of human neural circuits with the aims of understanding the neurobiological basis of
schizophrenia.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9895863
- **Project number:** 5R01MH113924-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Krishnan Padmanabhan
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $477,552
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-07-01 → 2022-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9895863

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9895863, in vivo imaging of transplanted human induced-Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPSC) derived neurons to model neurological and psychiatric disorders (5R01MH113924-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9895863. Licensed CC0.

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