Neurodevelopment Initiatives


 
  • Understanding how neural circuits take shape in space and time is essential in order to understand how the normal brain functions and how abnormal development causes disorders of disease, behavior, and personality.
  • This RFA solicited novel approaches for the study and manipulation of neural circuits as they form during development.

Blueprint Resource Antibody Initiative for Neurodevelopment (BRAINdev)
  • In partnership with the UC Davis/NIH NeuroMab Facility, BRAINdev is funding the targeted creation and distribution of a large number of high quality monoclonal antibodies for neurodevelopment research.
  • Funding is available for establishing Center(s) for Neurodevelopmental Antibodies (CENA), which will evaluate the immunoreactivity of these monoclonal antibodies in the developing central and peripheral nervous systems of multiple model organisms.

Gene Expression in Developing Non-Human Primate Brain
  • This pilot project focuses on creating a publicly accessible gene expression map of the rhesus macaque brain at multiple stages of neural development. The goal is to provide a bridge between existing gene expression maps of other species' brains, including mouse, and future efforts in human.
  • One contract will support the collection and preparation of Rhesus macaque brain tissue .
  • Another contract will support high throughput analysis of gene expression in Rhesus brain tissue, leading to construction of the gene expression map.