Monday, September 15, 2025 9/15/2025

A novel method to resolve the complex genome rearrangements of the large copy number variants (CNVs) associated with psychiatric disorders

Award Number: K01MH129758
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 02/15/2022
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 01/31/2026

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

A novel method to resolve the complex genome rearrangements of the large copy number variants (CNVs) associated with psychiatric disorders - Project Summary The proposed project serves as a platform to obtain the key training and research experiences in achieving the long-term career goal of becoming a leading academic principal investigator with a primary focus of developing and applying genomic methods to understand the complex genetic components and biological mechanisms of neuropsychiatric disorders. Chromosomal aberrations in the form of large deletions or duplications (copy number variants, CNVs), such as those on 1q21.1, 16p11.2, and 22q11.2, are the strongest known risk factors for neuropsychiatric disorders. For this reason, these large CNVs serve as key points of entry for investigating the molecular etiology. However, it is unknown why each of these CNVs is associated with diverse clinical outcomes. For example, deletions and duplications at 16p11.2 are strong risk factors for schizophrenia (SZ) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Duplications produce a greater than 10-fold increase in risk for SZ, but ASD is frequent in carriers of deletions as well as duplications. The large stretches of human-specific segmental duplications (HSDs) that both constitute and mediate the formation of these large “neuropsychiatric” CNVs are inaccessible to current genome sequencing analysis due to their high degree of repetitiveness and complexity. CNV studies to date have not been able to consider the genetic variations inside these hundreds of kilobases to megabases of HSDs. Thus, we do not know the exact “genomic scar” of each CNV in individual carriers including additional smaller-scale rearrangements, gene fusions, and copy number changes of paralogs, the diversity HSD rearrangements across different CNV carriers, and the concomitant functional effects. The major aims here are to (1) develop generalizable genome analysis methods to solve this important problem in psychiatric genetics in established cell lines carrying the 16p11.2 deletions and duplications as the first targets of this new approach, (2) to develop high-throughput genotyping assays so that studying the diversity of HSD rearrangements can be applied to expanded groups of affected individuals where only DNA sample (no cell lines) is available and to future cohort association studies, and (3) to investigate the functional effects of HSD rearrangement diversity on CNV biology using cortical organoid models. To facilitate career development and transition to an independent investigator, the following five training goals will be achieved under the support and guidance of the mentorship team: (1) developing expertise in targeted genome assembly analysis and optical DNA mapping; (2) expanding knowledge in developmental neuroscience and pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders; (3) gaining hands-on expertise in neuronal organoid modelling (4) acquiring expertise in chromatin interaction analysis and single-cell RNA expression analysis of neural organoids; (5) gaining experience in grant writing. The hands-on training will primarily take place at Stanford University with training components conducted at Yale and KU Leuven.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $179,388 )
2025	2025	THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY	450 JANE STANFORD WAY	STANFORD	CA	94305	SANTA CLARA	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	4	9/9/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$116,189
2025	2025	THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY	450 JANE STANFORD WAY	STANFORD	CA	94305	SANTA CLARA	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	4	4/24/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$179,388
2025	2025	TEXAS A&M AGRILIFE RESEARCH	2147 TAMU	COLLEGE STATION	TX	77843	BRAZOS	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	002	5	9/9/2025	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$116,189
														Subtotal = $179,388

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $179,388 )
2024	2024	THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY	450 JANE STANFORD WAY	STANFORD	CA	94305	SANTA CLARA	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	3	1/20/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$179,388
														Subtotal = $179,388

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $179,388 )
2023	2023	THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY	450 JANE STANFORD WAY	STANFORD	CA	94305	SANTA CLARA	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	2	1/27/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$179,388
														Subtotal = $179,388

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $179,388 )
2022	2022	LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY, THE	450 JANE STANFORD WAY	STANFORD	CA	94305	SANTA CLARA	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	1	2/14/2022	NEW	$179,388
														Subtotal = $179,388

Grand Total All Awards = $717,552

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

A novel method to resolve the complex genome rearrangements of the large copy number variants (CNVs) associated with psychiatric disorders

Award Number: K01MH129758

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 02/15/2022

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 01/31/2026

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer