Federal Project Grant Award Summary

Yale University received a $248,997 Project Grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) under the Human Genome Research program (CFDA 93.172), effective September 1, 2025, through August 31, 2028. The award supports research directed by Dr. Qiao Liu to develop and advance genomic Large Language Models (LLMs) as tools for interpreting how genetic variants affect phenotypic outcomes. The primary deliverable centers on creating core genomic LLM technologies with enhanced biological model interpretation capabilities, with particular emphasis on understanding how transcription factors bind to DNA recognition sites in genomic regulatory regions and control gene transcription in context-specific manners.

The funded research extends the genomic LLM platform into two applied research areas: imaging genetics studies that employ imaging traits as phenotypes analogous to genome-wide association studies, and development of machine learning approaches for Alzheimer's disease diagnosis. By bridging genetic variants and radiometric phenotypes through advanced language modeling techniques, the project addresses a fundamental challenge in modern genomics—namely, the difficulty in establishing direct biological relevance between genome-wide association study signals and actual phenotypic consequences. The three-year project is positioned to advance understanding of complex regulatory mechanisms in gene regulation and support translational applications in disease diagnosis and precision medicine.