Project Grant R01HL182952

Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The University of California, San Diego received a $779,600 Project Grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) under the Cardiovascular Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.837), with an award date of July 10, 2026 and expected completion by April 30, 2030. This award funds research to elucidate the mechanisms of left ventricle development and morphogenesis through comprehensive investigation of how diverse cardiac cell types emerge from developmental heart fields and coordinate to form complex cardiac structures. The research employs single-cell transcriptomic analyses, computational trajectory modeling, and lineage tracing techniques using genetically modified mouse models to define the gene regulatory networks that direct cardiac cell differentiation and regional specification within the left ventricle.

The project investigates the hypothesis that the left ventricle develops from at least two distinct developmental sources—rather than a single field as previously reported—which create specific anteroseptal and posterolateral regions. The research deliverables include identification and characterization of developmental heart field progenitors, molecular mapping of gene regulatory networks controlling left ventricle cardiomyocyte specification, and spatiotemporal analysis of how distinct progenitor populations contribute to left ventricle morphogenesis. These outcomes advance fundamental understanding of cardiac development and may inform approaches to congenital heart disease and regenerative cardiac medicine.