Project Grant R01NS134805

This Project Grant award, valued at $635,430.00 and effective from July 22, 2024 to June 30, 2029, is funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) under the Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders (CFDA 93.853) program. The project aims to advance the understanding of how regulatory genetic variation contributes to the risk and progression of Parkinson's disease (PD). Key objectives include defining the chromatin and transcriptional signatures of PD-vulnerable dopaminergic neurons over time and in response to PD-relevant insult, developing computational tools to link regulatory variants to cell-type specific functions, and evaluating the molecular and cellular effects of PD risk and non-risk variants using human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived dopaminergic neurons. This research is expected to provide critical insights into the regulatory encryption and mechanisms by which noncoding functional variation influences PD susceptibility and pathology, with potential applications for understanding other related neurodegenerative disorders.