The Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology funded two research projects in 2024 as part of its research seed grant program. The program supports interdisciplinary research projects and is now in its second year.

This year, two research projects beginning in May 2024 received $75,000 per year for up to two years.

Research projects seeded by the Beckman Institute anticipate growth and typically lead to external funding proposals after the two-year seeding term.

Exploring how ASD-related genes influence brain networks that guide behavior

From left: Benjamin Auerbach, Howard Gritton and Brad Sutton. Not pictured: Jozien Goense.

The CDC estimates that “1 in 36 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder,” or ASD.

ASDs have a wide range of symptoms characterized by neurodivergent behavior and atypical communication. A blend of genetic alterations in the brain causes these symptoms; determining which genes affect what behaviors can be challenging.

Together, Howard Gritton, a professor of comparative biosciences and bioengineering; Benjamin Auerbach, a professor of molecular and integrative physiology and neuroscience; Brad Sutton, a professor of bioengineering and the technical director of Beckman’s Biomedical Imaging Center and Jozien Goense, a professor of psychology and bioengineering will study how genetics contribute to biological behaviors that underpin ASDs.

"Understanding how the brain works, and how it may work differently in neurodevelopmental disorders like autism, requires access to brain function at multiple levels of analysis, from genes to cells to circuits to behavior,” Auerbach said.

Neurons use electrical signaling to communicate over short and long distances. The researchers will determine how specific gene alterations may modify how neurons connect and communicate in the context of behavioral symptoms of ASD.

“We hope to uncover how gene-cell type interactions contribute to autism-relevant behaviors by manipulating each independently,” Gritton said.

The team will manipulate genes in distinct cell types and use whole-brain imaging to study how those alterations affect brain function and behavior, addressing a previously intractable problem.

“We can explore the broad impacts of a few genetic changes and find mechanisms for targeting therapeutic interventions,” Sutton said.

The researchers will use functional magnetic resonance imaging to evaluate relationships between ASD characteristics and the brain’s structural and functional neural pathways, an approach with potential to transfer into clinical settings and inform novel treatment targets without problematic side-effects.

"The use of functional connectomics in this way is unique, and the work done here will be instrumental for enabling new projects and applications using these techniques across campus,” Goense said.

Researching the effects of collagen dysfunction on tissue

From left: Bruce Damon, Mariana Kersh and Dr. Christina Laukaitis.

Collagen-based tissues like tough, fibrous tendons or soft, flexible skin serve diverse purposes in the body. These tissues are made from the same building blocks, but each tissue type develops differently and has varying levels of mechanical resilience and functionality.

Collagen is an important protein that provides structural support in these tissues, and its quality is also an important factor. For example: anew rubber band resembling healthy tissues is mechanically resilient and returns to its original shape after being stretched, while a used rubber band resembling older, damaged or dysfunctional tissues may not be as resilient.

Collagen dysfunctions are thought to be an underlying cause of symptoms associated with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which leads to impaired function of connective tissues in the body. A non-invasive clinical method of distinguishing healthy tissue from impaired tissue does not yet exist.

Together, Mariana Kersh, a professor of mechanical science and engineering and biomedical and translation science; Bruce Damon, a professor of bioengineering and the co-director of the Carle Illinois Advanced Imaging Center; and Dr. Christina Laukaitis, a geneticist and clinical associate professor, will use quantitative MRI to study the relationship between tissue microstructure and composition and their biomechanics function.

The researchers will use a collagen missense mutation model (in which the amino acid building blocks of collagen proteins are arranged incorrectly), to understand the effects of human diseases that cause collagen dysfunction.

By developing a method to identify damaged tissues and examine their mechanical function using MRI, the team hopes to provide a pathway to enable earlier diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of collagen injuries and disorders like Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.

“This exciting project will let us start to bridge the gap between fundamental science and clinical translation by incorporating our three areas of expertise: engineering, imaging and clinical genetics. This work is only the beginning toward our interests in translating research to improve the wellbeing of others," Kersh said.