When the Human Cell Atlas project was unveiled in 2017, Deanne Taylor, then director of bioinformatics at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), noticed a critical gap: the ambitious effort to map every cell in the human body initially focused only on adults. Concerned that children were being overlooked, Taylor joined the project's volunteer team and helped draft a section on pediatric research for its white paper.
Her advocacy contributed to the launch of the Developmental Genotype-Tissue Expression Project (dGTEx) in 2021, backed by a $38.5 million NIH grant. The project aims to create the first comprehensive database of healthy pediatric tissue, collecting samples from deceased children whose parents consented to donation. Taylor and her team curate and standardize data associated with each sample, including family history and tissue details, while partner organizations analyze gene expression.
Colleagues describe Taylor as a unifying force in a field that often involves coordinating researchers with diverse goals. Sarah Teichmann, a cofounder of the Human Cell Atlas, praised Taylor's holistic view of pediatric development, emphasizing the need to understand not just individual organs but the entire system.
Taylor's career path has been unconventional, from a PhD in biophysics to work in reproductive medicine, where she helped develop early computer programs for embryo screening. She attributes her drive to undiagnosed autism and ADHD, and her focus has always been on why the same illness affects people differently.
The dGTEx database is intended to provide a baseline of gene expression in children, which could help researchers understand normal development, drug responses, and disease mechanisms. For example, differences in cardiac gene expression can make chemotherapy drugs harmful to children's hearts, and other treatments may trigger severe immune reactions.
Beyond dGTEx, Taylor is involved in the Kids First Data Resource Center and collaborations on 3D cell mapping initiatives. The effort to extend such resources to children is seen as vital, as much of human development occurs in childhood, including the formation of key brain cells and the maturation of the immune system.
Taylor hopes the project will shift research priorities, noting that ignoring pediatric data misses a critical window for intervention in human disease. The goal is to enable earlier detection and treatment of chronic conditions by tracing adult diseases back to childhood signals.
Source: MIT Technology Review
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