The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Northwestern University $30 million over five years to establish a new center aimed at uncovering a hidden layer of information within the human genome.
Called the Center for Genome Intelligence Engineering (GENIE), the multi-institutional Science and Technology Center (STC) will integrate experts in physics, biology, engineering, artificial intelligence (AI) and medicine to understand how the genome's three-dimensional structure helps cells establish their identities, remember past experiences and respond to their environments.
Led by Northwestern biomedical engineer Vadim Backman, GENIE's national network of researchers ultimately will aim to manipulate this architecture to improve human health. The approach could lead to new ways to help cells withstand injury, restore lost function and regenerate tissues without changing their underlying DNA.
GENIE will be situated within Northwestern's Querrey Simpson Institute for Regenerative Engineering (QSI RENU), a University-wide institute launched in 2025 with support from trustee Kimberly K. Querrey ('22, '23 P). QSI RENU unites engineering, medicine and physical and life sciences to develop new approaches for regenerating and restoring damaged tissues and organs. Building on that interdisciplinary foundation and Querrey's two decades of visionary support of the biosciences, GENIE will extend Northwestern's strengths in regenerative engineering into the emerging field of genome intelligence engineering. QSI RENU also will provide GENIE with scientific expertise, collaborative infrastructure and an institutional home.
"Winning a hyper-competitive NSF STC is a tremendous accomplishment for our Northwestern community," Northwestern President Mung Chiang said. "GENIE will open a new frontier in understanding the genome and engineering cellular memory. By leading this partnership, the Northwestern team will advance transformational discovery, educate the next generation of researchers and lay the foundation for innovations that improve lives and strengthen the country's leadership in science and technology."
Backman's previous research suggests this physical organization represents more than packaging. Genome geometry may help determine which genes a cell uses and when, while also enabling cells to retain a record of previous activity. This "transcriptional memory" can influence how cells respond to future conditions. And changes in the memory may contribute to aging-related decline, cancer, neurodegeneration and other diseases.
"Northwestern's long tradition of integrating disciplines has made it a natural home for work that treats the genome as both a physical structure and a computational system," Backman said. "GENIE will extend that convergence across institutions, bringing together people and capabilities that no single field or university could assemble on its own to learn how to read and write this language of life, opening new possibilities for regenerative health, healthy longevity and disease treatment."
Backman, GENIE's principal investigator, is the Sachs Family Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Medicine at Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. A member of QSI RENU, he also directs Northwestern's Center for Physical Genomics and Engineering.
GENIE will pursue this work through three integrated research thrusts: understanding the genome's foundational physics; developing technologies in imaging, computation and AI; and engineering chromatin. Researchers then will put their discoveries to the test in three crosscutting testbeds focused on human health: strengthening cells against injury caused by reduced blood flow, rejuvenating neurons in models of Alzheimer's disease and regenerating heart muscle cells and neurons affected by aging.
Because genome geometry is physical, GENIE researchers will explore ways to physically reshape it. One approach will use CRISPR-based tools to change how regions of chromatin interact and fold - without editing the DNA itself. Another will investigate whether low-energy electromagnetic fields - delivered from outside the body - can be used to influence chromatin organization. A third will use engineered biomaterials to physically reshape cells and, in turn, the genome inside them.
"We know that a material's shape can influence how cells interact with it and that changing the shape of a cell's nucleus can affect how the cell behaves," said Guillermo Ameer, the Daniel Hale Williams Professor of Biomedical Engineering at McCormick, professor of surgery at Feinberg and founding director of QSI RENU. "GENIE will allow us to investigate the next step: how these physical forces reshape the genome inside the nucleus and influence cellular memory. By understanding those mechanisms, we can develop new principles for designing medical devices and therapies that could one day help regenerate tissue or restore lost function."
GENIE's potential could extend far beyond human health. The same principles that help scientists understand and control how human cells remember and adapt could one day be applied to other living systems - from engineering crops that better withstand drought and heat to programming microbes to manufacture fuels, chemicals or other useful materials.
The NSF STC program supports ambitious, long-term research and educational partnerships designed to tackle major scientific and societal challenges. GENIE's initial five-year award may be renewed for an additional five years, subject to NSF review and the availability of funds.
"Northwestern's research enterprise is at its strongest when investigators and partners gather around questions that no single field can answer," said Northwestern Provost Erik Luijten. "GENIE will be much more than a collection of projects. It will connect expertise across schools and institutions, create shared capabilities and train researchers who are fluent in multiple scientific languages. We are committed to giving this partnership the structure and support it needs to produce a lasting impact."
Other Northwestern researchers involved in this project are:
- Mazhar Adli
- Dr. Luay Almassalha
- Vinayak Dravid
- Bennett Goldberg
- Aggelos Katsaggelos
- Dr. Daniela Matei
- John A. Rogers
- Igal Szleifer
- Hao Zhang
