# 1/2 Discovery and validation of neuronal enhancers associated with the development of psychiatric disorders

> **NIH NIH U01** · UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS MED SCH WORCESTER · 2020 · $1,132,094

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
In this project, we will develop novel methods for finding brain-specific enhancers, build
regulatory networks, deconvolve brain-region-specific regulation, and relate differential
enhancer signals to variations in the human population. We will then apply these analytical
methods to the psychENCODE data corpus, integrating these data with GTEx, ENCODE, and
CommonMind data, annotating GWAS SNPs associated with psych disease, prioritizing the
discovered regulatory elements for validation, and visualizing all psychENCODE data in an
integrated fashion. We will then validate these predicted regulatory elements using large-scale
genomic assays in neuroblastoma cells, iPSC cells, and neuronal precursor cells differentiated
into neuronal lineages, and using a microfluidics platform capable of culturing neuronal cells and
neuronal organoids. The results from these studies will further our understanding of the genetic
regulatory basis for neuronal function in both normal and neuropsychiatric disease states.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9896859
- **Project number:** 5U01MH116492-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS MED SCH WORCESTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Mark Bender Gerstein
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $1,132,094
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-07-06 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9896859

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9896859, 1/2 Discovery and validation of neuronal enhancers associated with the development of psychiatric disorders (5U01MH116492-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9896859. Licensed CC0.

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