EMU: ACQUISITION OF EQUIPMENT FOR INNOVATION IN SPATIAL GENOMICS

• Grant number: 23/17444-0
• Support Opportunities: Research Infrastructure Program - Small Medium Sized
• Start date: September 01, 2024
• End date: August 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Medical Clinics
• Principal Investigator: Leandro Machado Colli
• Grantee: Leandro Machado Colli
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Alexandre Todorovic Fabro ; João Pereira Leite ; Marco Andrey Cipriani Frade ; Margaret de Castro ; Valdair Francisco Muglia

Abstract

Cell and tissue biology have been the focus of study for several centuries, aiming to understand the organization, structure, and function of cells in healthy and pathological tissues. During this period, numerous discoveries revolutionized this area, providing crucial molecular information to understand the relationship between tissue organization and cellular processes. Currently, genomic tools play an essential role in characterizing altered tissues, allowing the correlation of molecular changes with specific diseases, as well as identifying more precise cellular subtypes within tissue diversity. This approach also unravels the molecular mechanisms underlying cell biology, in a scenario where tissue complexity is taken into account. It is important to highlight that the state and behavior of an individual cell or a set of cells can be influenced by factors released by neighboring cells and by environmental changes. Measuring the impact of these factors requires innovative approaches, such as technologies and strategies that allow accurate assessment of gene expression and protein levels in relation to tissue organization and phenotype. This spatial analysis of molecular information is fundamental to understanding cellular interactions and the processes that occur in tissues. In this context, advanced tissue imaging techniques play a crucial role in modern pathology. The integration of these techniques with molecular profiles obtained through "omics" technologies, both in homogeneous cellular regions and in individual cells ("single-cell" studies), allows the evolution, heterogeneity, and changes in tissues to be mapped in detail. In this proposal, we brought together researchers from different health areas to expand the genomic services of the Translational Oncology Laboratory. It has a wide and very up-to-date range of equipment, capable of supporting large studies of classical genomics and advanced genomics in single cells. There is no capacity for spatial genomics yet. Thus, through the acquisition of the most modern spatial genomics equipment, we seek to expand the laboratory's operations to the entire community in the Ribeirão Preto region and the State of São Paulo. (AU)