Project Grant DP2MH132944

The National Institute of Mental Health awarded a $2,875,792 Project Grant to The Trustees of Columbia University in New York, New York to develop organoid models of the human postnatal brain through activity-augmented organoids. The grant aims to unlock later stages of human brain development by applying synthetic neural inputs to organoids to guide specification of diverse neuronal cell types and acquisition of advanced activity states. The researchers will test several parallel methods to activate organoid cells and circuits over extended periods through biologically relevant stimulation. New techniques will also be developed to repeatedly measure changing neuronal activities throughout human development. Insights will be leveraged to study pathogenic mechanisms in a disease model of severe developmental delay and epilepsy impaired by neurotransmission. This Innovator grant aligns with the Mental Health Research Grants program objectives under the National Institutes of Health National Institute of Mental Health to transform understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research.