Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The Lieber Institute for Brain Development received a $1.86 million Project Grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279), awarded March 1, 2026, with completion targeted for February 28, 2029. The institute will deliver a comprehensive three-dimensional cellular resolution spatio-molecular map of the human nucleus accumbens (NAC), a critical brain region implicated in reward signaling and substance use disorders. The research will integrate spatial transcriptomic mapping with paired single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) to assign molecularly-defined cell types to precise spatial coordinates across the dorsal-ventral, medial-lateral, and anterior-posterior axes of the NAC.

The project's primary deliverables include refined computational annotations of gene expression patterns linked to behavioral phenotypes and genetic risk factors associated with substance use, registered to spatially-defined NAC cell populations. These findings will advance understanding of how distinct NAC cell types mediate reward signaling and control motivated behavior, ultimately supporting the development of improved prevention, diagnosis, and treatment approaches for substance use disorders. The research aligns with NIDA priorities by combining basic neuroscience methodologies with translational applications to address the biological mechanisms underlying addiction.