Sunday, February 15, 2026 2/15/2026

Reprogramming Cell Fate for Repair

Award Number: R01NS100514
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 06/15/2017
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 05/31/2023

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

Reprogramming Cell Fate for Repair - Project Summary Central neurons are highly specialized and long-lived cells that form precise circuitry to support normal brain function. The cerebral cortex does not add new neurons to maintain or increase function nor replace neurons lost to injury or disease. Adult hippocampal neurogenesis in the human brain shows that adult neurogenesis is possible. However, for human cerebral cortex, there are two possible strategies for neuronal addition, 1) replace with exogenous neurons generated by cell culture or 2) recruit local endogenous cells by converting them to neurons. The ultimate goal of this project is to investigate the second approach and to establish the capacity for neuronal reprogramming of human glial progenitor cells and to assess their potential for functional integration. For neuronal reprogramming to have therapeutic potential, it will be necessary to precisely engineer neurons with a predictable and sustainable rate of survival. Aim 1 will address issues of survival efficiency and subtype precision, developing an innovative vector toolbox to conduct these studies. But there also remains the question of how authentic these induced neurons become. The forced transcription factor expression may cause expression of certain neuronal phenotypes, including the capacity to fire an action potential, without necessarily resulting in functional maturation. While our preliminary data demonstrate the most advanced neuronal morphology reported to date, true circuit integration still remains to be shown. Aim 2 is designed to utilize current advances in connectivity tracing to investigate the state of integration of newly engineered neurons into local and distant circuits. In particular Aim 2b will ask if newly engineered neurons are capable of actively rewiring in the brain. We see application for this approach in rebuilding any damaged circuit, including ultimately those experiencing dysregulation such as in epilepsy or neuropathic pain. There is no information about the capacity to reprogram non-neuronal cells in the human brain into new neurons, despite the compelling need for such data to advance therapeutic application of this approach. As we cannot conduct these experiments in human brain, Aim 3 will develop a chimeric model, engrafting human cells into rodent brain to allow targeting of human glial progenitor cells for neuronal reprogramming and evaluating the extent of circuit integration with rat neurons. By using human iPSC-derived glial progenitor cells as our starting population, it will be possible to expand these studies to address the impact of disease-specific factors as well as providing a basis for eventual patient-specific therapies.


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: 2024 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2024	2021	ROSALIND FRANKLIN UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE & SCIENCE	3333 GREEN BAY RD	NORTH CHICAGO	IL	60064	LAKE	USA	Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders	000	5	2/9/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $551,979 )
2021	2021	ROSALIND FRANKLIN UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE AND SCIENCE	3333 GREEN BAY RD	NORTH CHICAGO	IL	60064	LAKE	USA	Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders	001	5	7/28/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$551,979
2021	2021	ROSALIND FRANKLIN UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE AND SCIENCE	3333 GREEN BAY RD	NORTH CHICAGO	IL	60064	LAKE	USA	Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders	002	5	8/3/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
2021	2020	ROSALIND FRANKLIN UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE AND SCIENCE	3333 GREEN BAY RD	NORTH CHICAGO	IL	60064	LAKE	USA	Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders	000	4	7/26/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $551,979

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $608,285 )
2020	2020	ROSALIND FRANKLIN UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE AND SCIENCE	3333 GREEN BAY RD	NORTH CHICAGO	IL	60064	LAKE	USA	Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders	001	4	6/8/2020	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$558,289
2020	2020	ROSALIND FRANKLIN UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE AND SCIENCE	3333 GREEN BAY RD	NORTH CHICAGO	IL	60064	LAKE	USA	Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders	000	3	2/4/2020	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$49,996
														Subtotal = $608,285

Issue Date FY: 2019 ( Subtotal = $950,843 )
2019	2019	ROSALIND FRANKLIN UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE AND SCIENCE	3333 GREEN BAY RD	NORTH CHICAGO	IL	60064	LAKE	USA	Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders	000	3	6/4/2019	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$560,843
2019	2019	ROSALIND FRANKLIN UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE AND SCIENCE	3333 GREEN BAY RD	NORTH CHICAGO	IL	60064	LAKE	USA	Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders	001	3	8/22/2019	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$390,000
														Subtotal = $950,843

Issue Date FY: 2018 ( Subtotal = $565,096 )
2018	2018	ROSALIND FRANKLIN UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE AND SCIENCE	3333 GREEN BAY RD	NORTH CHICAGO	IL	60064	LAKE	USA	Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders	000	2	5/24/2018	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$565,096
														Subtotal = $565,096

Issue Date FY: 2017 ( Subtotal = $582,005 )
2017	2017	ROSALIND FRANKLIN UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE AND SCIENCE	3333 GREEN BAY RD	NORTH CHICAGO	IL	60064	LAKE	USA	Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders	000	1	6/9/2017	NEW	$582,005
														Subtotal = $582,005

Grand Total All Awards = $3,258,208

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

Reprogramming Cell Fate for Repair

Award Number: R01NS100514

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 06/15/2017

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 05/31/2023

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer