Better ways to find DNA changes in individual human cells
Establishing and benchmarking advanced methods to comprehensively characterize somatic genome variation in single human cells
They are building improved lab methods to find DNA mutations inside single human cells to help people affected by conditions caused by somatic mutations.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Stanford University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Stanford, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11134520 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
This project will develop and compare new laboratory techniques to read the full genomes of single human cells. The team will use cloned cells (iPSC lines) and advanced amplification and long-read sequencing to capture mutations across entire chromosomes. They will create high-quality, open benchmark datasets so other labs can test and improve their methods. The goal is to make single-cell mutation detection more accurate and widely reliable.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are people willing to donate samples such as blood, bone marrow, tissue biopsies, or consent to autopsy donations to generate single-cell material for analysis.
Not a fit: Patients seeking immediate treatment or direct clinical benefit are unlikely to gain personal health improvements from this methods-focused work.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients could benefit from more accurate detection of disease-related DNA changes that are present in only some cells.
How similar studies have performed: Related techniques like PTA and long-read sequencing have shown promise for improving accuracy, but combining single-cell cloning with whole-genome long-read benchmarking is relatively new and still being proven.
Where this research is happening
Stanford, United States
- Stanford University — Stanford, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Urban, Alexander Eckehart — Stanford University
- Study coordinator: Urban, Alexander Eckehart
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.