How genetic differences affect individual cells
Official title: Integrated analysis of multi-omic QTLs at single cell resolution
Funded at Translational Genomics Research Inst · NIH-11138770 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how people's genetic differences change activity inside individual cells to help link genes to disease.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Translational Genomics Research Inst NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Phoenix, United States) |
| Project start | September 15, 2022 |
| Project end | June 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $680,777 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HG011886-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11138770 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates would be adults willing to donate blood or tissue samples (including people with specific genetic conditions or complex diseases) and able to provide samples to the Phoenix-based research team.
✕Less likely to help
People seeking immediate clinical treatment or short-term personal medical benefit are unlikely to gain direct health benefits from participating.
What this research studies
This project asks people to donate blood or tissue samples so researchers can read DNA-linked signals inside individual cells. Scientists will use single-cell technologies (like scRNA-seq and chromatin assays) and develop new computational tools to find genetic variants that change cell behavior. They will combine multiple molecular types (RNA, chromatin, methylation, protein) to map how genes act in specific cell types instead of averaged bulk tissue. The goal is to reveal the cellular pathways by which genetic differences contribute to complex diseases.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help researchers identify precise cell types and molecular targets involved in genetic diseases, guiding more accurate diagnoses and future targeted therapies.
How similar studies have gone: Bulk QTL studies have linked genetics to molecular changes successfully, but single-cell multi-omic QTL mapping is a newer approach that is still being developed.
Where this research is happening
-
Translational Genomics Research Inst
Phoenix, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Banovich, Nicholas Eli — Translational Genomics Research Inst
- Study coordinator: Banovich, Nicholas Eli
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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.