Federal Grant Award Summary

The University of Pennsylvania received a $100,297 Project Grant award from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847), effective May 1, 2026, with a completion date of January 31, 2031. This research project will deliver comprehensive characterization of alternative splicing events in kidney tissue and their relationship to chronic kidney disease (CKD) pathology through advanced long-read sequencing technologies. The research will produce novel isoform identification, comparative analysis of isoform expression between CKD and control kidney samples, and integration of findings with mass spectrometry protein-level data.

The project will generate an isoform-resolved atlas of kidney cell populations using single-cell long-read sequencing, identifying cellular states and disease-associated isoforms at single-cell resolution. These deliverables address a critical knowledge gap in understanding CKD's molecular mechanisms, as genetic factors account for 30-50% of CKD risk but remain poorly characterized at the isoform level. The research outcomes will clarify which kidney cell types and alternative splicing events drive disease pathology, potentially enabling identification of new therapeutic targets for this major global health burden.