Unlocking how transcriptional regulators influence eye health and disease
Official title: Unlocking the Hidden Regulome underlying Ocular Health and Disease via Scalable Integrative Frameworks
Funded at University of Texas Arlington · NIH-11459382 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A patient-friendly overview of a research project that aims to map how genes control eye health using scalable, advanced data methods.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Texas Arlington NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Arlington, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2026 |
| Project end | February 28, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $513,299 |
| NIH project number | 1R01EY039573-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11459382 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates would be individuals with eye conditions linked to transcriptional regulation and those participating in future translational studies or trials.
✕Less likely to help
People not affected by eye diseases or those not involved in gene-regulation–focused research may not directly benefit.
What this research studies
This project aims to uncover which transcriptional regulators drive normal eye function and eye disease by integrating large sets of eye-related omics data. It introduces TRex, a new Bayesian framework that uses current data to identify key regulators while accounting for uncertainty and tissue differences. Because the work will also infer cell-type–specific regulatory information from bulk data, it could reveal targets for therapies without needing costly single-cell experiments. The approach seeks to build a more complete picture of eye biology that could guide future diagnostics and treatments.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the research could illuminate new targets for treating eye diseases and improve understanding of how vision is regulated at the molecular level.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies show that integrative omics approaches can reveal regulatory mechanisms, but this project introduces novel Bayesian methods to handle uncertainty and heterogeneity in eye tissues.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Texas Arlington
Arlington, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Wang, Xinlei — University of Texas Arlington
- Study coordinator: Wang, Xinlei
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.