This Project Grant award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) under the Cardiovascular Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.837) totaling $807,434 will fund research to characterize chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)-associated alternative splicing in human airway epithelial cells (HAECs).
The primary recipient, Brigham & Women's Hospital, will use the data from 185 primary HAEC samples to generate the first genome-wide splicing quantitative trait loci (sQTL) maps for HAECs exposed to cigarette smoke. They will perform colocalization analyses to identify COPD GWAS loci affecting splicing, which will be further validated through long-read RNA sequencing and proteomics. Additionally, the researchers will develop new deep learning splicing models and splicing regulatory network analysis methods to comprehensively characterize cigarette smoke-induced alternative splicing in HAECs.
Northeastern University and the University of Virginia are sub-recipients supporting the development of the deep learning splicing models and splicing regulatory network analysis, respectively. This multi-disciplinary research aims to advance the functional characterization of COPD genetic risk factors and identify potential therapeutic targets related to alternative splicing.
Generated 3/4/25, 7:47 AM