Mapping the Brain’s Genetic Blueprint: How USU’s Center for Military Precision Health Is Transforming CNS Research

Uniformed Services University scientists are leveraging whole genome sequencing to unlock new insights into neurological and psychiatric disorders.

Dr. Clifton Dalgard, director of the USU Center for Military Precision Health, reviews genomic data at a

sequencing terminal. (Photo credit: Tom Balfour, USU)

February 26, 2026 by Sharon Holland

Precision medicine depends on high-quality, deeply characterized data. At the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), researchers at the Center for Military Precision Health (CMPH) have helped establish one of the most comprehensive genomic resources ever assembled for the study of neurological and psychiatric disease. 

Working in partnership with the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) NIMH NeuroBioBank—a federally supported network of six brain tissue repositories—CMPH led the large-scale whole genome sequencing and genomic analysis of post-mortem brain tissue collected across the NeuroBioBank system. The result is whole genome sequencing of more than 9,500 human brains, representing the largest post-mortem brain sequencing effort conducted to date. 

This achievement extends far beyond scale. It significantly enhances how central nervous system (CNS) disorders can be studied.

The initiative provides comprehensive genomic characterization of brain tissue spanning 140 neurological and psychiatric conditions. These donated brains—carefully collected, clinically characterized, and neuropathologically examined through the NeuroBioBank repositories—are now paired with complete whole genome sequencing data generated and analyzed by CMPH. 

That integration changes the research landscape. Historically, investigators requested specimens primarily on the basis of diagnosis or limited clinical descriptors. With full genomic profiles now available, researchers can design studies around specific mutations, rare variants, structural alterations, repeat expansions, or cumulative polygenic risk patterns. This enables more precise hypothesis testing and moves CNS research toward a truly mechanism-driven model.

(From left) Dr. Matthew Wilkerson, Dr. Clifton Dalgard, and Dr. Daniel Hupalo, the leadership and lead author

team at USU’s Center for Military Precision Health responsible for the record-breaking sequencing of 9,500

human brains. (Wilkerson and Dalgard photo credit: Tom Balfour, USU. Hupalo photo courtesy of Dr. Daniel

Hupalo)

To ensure the dataset is accurate and dependable, the CMPH team tested it against genetic patterns that scientists already know are linked to specific diseases. Their analyses correctly identified well-established mutations, such as the HTT gene repeat expansion seen in Huntington’s disease and APOE gene variants associated with Alzheimer’s disease. When researchers examined overall polygenetic risk patterns—rather than single mutations—they were also able to distinguish individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Major Depressive Disorder.

The USU team, which includes investigators Dr. Daniel Hupalo, Dr. Matthew Wilkerson, and Dr. Clifton Dalgard, also confirmed in their article, “The NeuroBioBank whole-genome catalogue of human brain donors with central nervous system disorders,” published Feb. 16, 2026 in the Oxford Academic journal Brain, that the dataset accurately captures larger structural changes in DNA. Their analyses detected known genetic alterations associated with Williams-Beuren syndrome and Angelman syndrome, both rare genetic neurodevelopmental disorders. In addition, the researchers verified a specific repeating DNA sequence—known as a GGGGCC repeat expansion—in a gene called C9Orf72. This type of genetic change is strongly linked to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. 

Together, these findings demonstrate that the dataset accurately captures known genetic signatures and provides a biologically robust, research-ready resource for discovering new mutations, structural variations, repeat expansions, and complex polygenic contributions to disease.

"What makes this resource unique is that researchers don't have to choose between tissue and genomic data, they get both. Banked tissue is available through the NIH NeuroBioBank alongside precomputed, analysis-ready whole-genome sequencing data in the NIMH Data Archive,” said Hupalo, the study lead author. “This means an investigator studying CNS disease doesn't have the added cost and delay of generating sequencing data from scratch, and they can run follow up experiments on the same matched tissue." 

This work directly supports USU’s mission to advance precision medicine approaches that improve readiness and long-term health outcomes. Neurological and psychiatric disorders—including neurodegenerative disease, mood disorders, and trauma-related conditions—have profound implications for service members, veterans, and civilian populations. 

By linking deep clinical phenotyping from the NeuroBioBank with high-resolution whole genome sequencing at CMPH, investigators can now request brain specimens based on precise genomic characteristics rather than diagnosis alone. This integration enables more accurate identification of genetic contributors to disease and supports the development of targeted treatments. With more than 9,500 sequenced brains in this national repository, CMPH has created an enduring scientific resource that will support discovery across neurodegenerative, developmental, and psychiatric disorders for years to come.