Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The University of California, Los Angeles received a $433,125 Project Grant award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859), effective April 1, 2026 through February 28, 2031. The award supports research to develop and expand an imaging-based molecular recording approach for tracing developmental signaling histories in single cells. The research will extend the dynamic range of signal recording technology to capture the broad spectrum of in vivo signal intensities and enable simultaneous recording of multiple signaling pathways, including BMP (bone morphogenetic protein), WNT, and NODAL signaling. The work involves engineering mouse embryonic stem cells as recording systems and generating stem cell-derived and chimeric embryo models to establish connections between cell fate and spatial organization during early organogenesis with prior signaling activity.

This research addresses a critical gap in developmental biology by providing a mechanism to reconstruct and analyze the signaling histories that individual cells experience over time—information typically inaccessible through conventional imaging methods, particularly in mammalian systems. By creating heritable genomic records of signaling activity that can be analyzed alongside gene expression profiles, the research aims to clarify how cells retain memory of past signaling and coordinate developmental processes across extended timeframes.