Creating reliable antibody tools to map proteins across the whole brain

Molecularly Defined Immunoprobes for Scalable Brain Protein Mapping with Reference Datasets

NIH-funded research University of California at Davis · NIH-11213072

This project makes renewable, well-defined antibody probes to map proteins in mouse and human brains so researchers can build detailed reference brain atlases.

Quick facts

Grant typeNIH-funded research
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionUniversity of California at Davis NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Davis, United States)
Project IDNIH-11213072 on NIH RePORTER

What this research studies

From a patient's view, the team is mining a large antibody collection to find those that reliably label proteins in cleared whole-brain tissue. They will convert the best monoclonal antibodies into recombinant versions to ensure consistent performance and broad supply. These reagents will be tested in both mouse and human cleared tissues and used to generate comprehensive, shareable whole-brain protein maps. The resulting validated tools and reference datasets will be made available to other scientists to help drive future research on brain function and disease.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Ideal participants would be people or families willing to donate human brain tissue (postmortem or surgical samples) for research use under appropriate consent.

Not a fit: Patients who do not donate tissue or who expect immediate clinical care or direct treatment benefits are unlikely to gain direct benefit from this project.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, the project will produce reliable protein-mapping tools and reference atlases that help researchers understand brain disorders and speed development of new treatments.

How similar studies have performed: Tissue clearing and antibody labeling have advanced brain mapping in recent years, but assembling a renewable, validated set of antibodies specifically optimized for whole-brain cleared tissue is relatively novel.

Where this research is happening

Davis, United States

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Last reviewed 2026-06-13 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.