VT researchers creating new way to map out the human brain, furthering brain research

BLACKSBURG, Va. (WFXR)– Researchers at Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering are working on a comprehensive map to push the boundaries in the future of brain research.

Chang Lu, the Fred W. Bull Professor of Chemical Engineering, has been leading a project to map and provide a visualization of brain biology at a genome-scale in the most cost-effective way possible. The newly published article in the Cell Reports Method Journal features interdisciplinary research with associate professor Xiaoting Jia from the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and professor in computer science and affiliate faculty member at the Sanghani Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics Daphane Yao.

Lu and his colleagues are focusing on epigenomics, which is a chemical change that influences gene activity without altering the DNA sequence and can be responsible for changes in activity inside the brain, causing various diseases. They are exploring how brain epigenomics can be altered in various brain regions in response to activity changes or specific conditions like seizure, epilepsy, addiction, or other mental diseases.

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Currently, the process of mapping the brain involves profiling single cells, which is a costly and tedious process. Lu and his team have developed a more cost-effective approach to the spatial method– epigenomic tomography.

“Treating brain disorders has historically been done not by rational design, but by trial and error,” said Lu. “By having a reference map that explains how different parts of the brain operate at a molecular level, this can help researchers begin to develop different treatment options.”

Epigenomic tomography involves the creation of a detailed map of the epigenome, or the genome-scale profile of the epigenetic change, across a large area of the brain. Lu believes this is an important method for scientists to use to understand the genetic and environmental factors that affect the ways genes behave outside of DNA sequences.

“When a person has a seizure, struggles with addiction, or suffers from any kind of brain disorder, they experience epigenomic alteration in the brain,” Lu said. “Creating a reference map of the brain to display what healthy brain epigenomes look like across various regions can provide a helpful point of comparison for when the brain suffers a change, such as a seizure.”

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