NIH looks to spend $54M to map cells of human adults
The U.S. National Institutes of Health hopes to spend $54 million over
the next four years to map the trillions of cells that compose the adult
human body.
Human cells are organized in tissues that work around the clock to keep
us healthy. But understanding how these cells actually do their job is a
challenge, scientists say.
Through its Human BioMolecular Atlas Program, or HuBMAP, the NIH has
issued its first set of research funding awards that will help unravel
this mystery, the agency announced Wednesday.
"We're excited for HuBMAP to start its journey to expand our
understanding of the principles of tissue organization," said Dr. James
Anderson, NIH director of program coordination, planning and strategic
initiatives.
"We expect HuBMAP to provide a vital framework for global efforts to
comprehensively understand the human body at a biomolecular level,"
Anderson said in an agency news release.
Researchers know that cell organization and specialization within
tissues influence growth, bodily function and aging. Cells also can
indicate the start of disease.
"The ability to detect subtle changes in the activity of individual
immune cells and in their interactions with other cells within tissues
would help signal the emergence of disease before symptoms are
clinically detectable," the NIH stated.
Grants were awarded to 11 U.S. institutions, including California
Institute of Technology, Harvard, Stanford and Purdue universities.
Assuming the funds are available, advanced technologies will allow
researchers to evaluate large numbers of cells at the individual cell
level, according to the agency.
It's not expected that HuBMAP will map the entire body. But it will
provide a foundation for more complete mapping and make data available
to researchers for further study, the NIH said.
The anticipated funding will:
Standardize and validate data on cell organization and variability.
Develop new tools and techniques to create tissue maps.
Coordinate activities, manage HuBMAP data and build an atlas of tissue maps.
Support for this high-priority project comes from the NIH Common Fund.
The Common Fund tackles challenges in biomedical research that no single
NIH institute or center can address on its own.
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