Zebrafish and mouse models to study tic disorders
Official title: Developing and validating zebrafish models of tic disorders
Funded at University of Florida · NIH-11421302 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers are building quick, scalable animal models to understand tic disorders and to test potential therapies.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Florida NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Gainesville, United States) |
| Project start | September 4, 2026 |
| Project end | August 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $362,071 |
| NIH project number | 1R61NS144467-01A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11421302 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Patients with tic disorders or related neurodevelopmental conditions could benefit from future therapies informed by this research.
✕Less likely to help
Direct clinical benefits may not be immediate; the work is foundational and occurs in animal models.
What this research studies
This project combines zebrafish and mouse models to study how tic disorders develop at the genetic level and to enable fast screening of treatments. It aims to create a cross-species pipeline with advanced analysis tools to identify how risk genes affect brain development and movement. The work focuses on translating basic biology into options for people with tic disorders by accelerating the discovery of targeted therapies.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could speed up the identification of effective treatments for tic disorders.
How similar studies have gone: Prior animal-model work has advanced understanding of TD biology, and this approach seeks to scale and accelerate that progress.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Florida
Gainesville, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Bortolato, Marco — University of Florida
- Study coordinator: Bortolato, Marco
Related research
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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.