Central data hub for human pain tissues and genetics
Data Core
This project is building a large shared database of human nerve and brain tissues, genetic data, and pain scores to help researchers understand chronic pain in people.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Brigham and Women's Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11163272 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers will collect donated human trigeminal and dorsal root ganglia tissue and painful neuromas along with clinical pain scores and demographics. They will generate large-scale molecular profiles including single-cell RNA sequencing, single-cell ATAC-seq, spatial transcriptomics (MERFISH), and SNP genotypes from hundreds of samples. All datasets will be harmonized, stored in a centralized database with a web interface, and processed with standard bioinformatics pipelines to link cell types, gene regulation, and genetic variants to patients' pain features. The Data Core will support analysis and data sharing so other scientists can search for biomarkers and therapeutic targets.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are people with neuropathic or surgical nerve-related pain who can donate tissue during clinical care or consent to use of their excised tissue and clinical data.
Not a fit: People without nerve tissue available for donation or those with non-neuropathic pain conditions are unlikely to be eligible or receive direct benefit from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this resource could speed discovery of biomarkers and molecular targets that lead to better, more personalized treatments for chronic pain.
How similar studies have performed: Single-cell and multi-omics approaches have revealed disease mechanisms in other fields, but applying this scale of integrated data specifically to human pain tissues is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
Boston, United States
- Brigham and Women's Hospital — Boston, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Dong, Xianjun — Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Study coordinator: Dong, Xianjun
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.