Federal Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) awarded the University of Iowa a Project Grant of $779,797 under the Mental Health Research Grants program (CFDA 93.242), effective March 5, 2026, with completion scheduled for December 31, 2030. This award funds a research initiative investigating single-cell transcriptomics and epigenetic regulation to identify and characterize stress-resistant brain network activity in the context of chronic stress and major depressive disorder (MDD). The project combines advanced neurophysiological techniques—including multi-site in vivo neurophysiology, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), behavioral and telemetric measurements, single-cell RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), spatial transcriptomics, epigenetic investigations, and viral manipulations—to examine the mechanistic underpinnings of individual vulnerability to chronic stress using mouse models.

The research deliverables will establish a comprehensive understanding of the brain network signatures that predict susceptibility to chronic stress-induced behavioral phenotypes prior to stress exposure, with particular emphasis on identifying similarities and differences in stress vulnerability between male and female subjects. By characterizing the stress-naive vulnerable brain state and its relationship to post-chronic stress behavioral outcomes, this project aims to generate new insights into individual differences in gene regulation and neural circuitry that may inform the development of targeted therapeutics for stress-related mental illnesses. The findings are expected to contribute substantially to NIMH's mission of transforming the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research.