Bottom-Up Protein Imaging in Tissue by Mass Spectrometry
Official title: Bottom-Up Mass Spectrometry Imaging of Tissue Proteins
Funded at New Jersey Institute of Technology · NIH-11119582 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A new method will image proteins in tissue samples by breaking them into peptides and detecting them with fast, sensitive mass spectrometry directly on the tissue.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | New Jersey Institute of Technology NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Newark, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2026 |
| Project end | July 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $406,506 |
| NIH project number | 1R21MH140424-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11119582 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are patients with autistic disorder and related brain tissue samples or willing donors for research that involves tissue analysis.
✕Less likely to help
People not contributing tissue samples or not involved in neurological tissue studies may not directly benefit.
What this research studies
This project aims to improve protein imaging in tissue by using a bottom-up mass spectrometry imaging approach with nano-DESI and online rapid digestion to identify many proteins from a single tissue section. The method emphasizes higher sensitivity by analyzing peptide fragments rather than intact proteins, enabling richer molecular maps of biological tissues. The study is designed to be applicable to human neurological conditions like autism by focusing on tissue-level protein information that could reveal disease-related processes. The work will be conducted at the New Jersey Institute of Technology under the lead investigator Hao Chen over a two-year period.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the method could provide more detailed protein maps from tissue biopsies, potentially helping researchers understand autism biology and identify biomarkers.
How similar studies have gone: Previous top-down MSI methods struggled with sensitivity; this bottom-up approach aims to overcome that and build on ongoing protein-imaging work.
Where this research is happening
-
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Newark, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Chen, Hao — New Jersey Institute of Technology
- Study coordinator: Chen, Hao
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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.