Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) awarded Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University a Project Grant totaling $544,568 on February 11, 2026, under the Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders program (CFDA 93.853). The award supports research investigating the pathogenesis of permanent neurological disability in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) through analysis of postmortem brain tissue. The research aims to identify cellular and molecular alterations responsible for surface-in gradients of myelinated fiber degeneration and neuronal loss, with particular focus on ependymal cell dysfunction, cerebrospinal fluid protein interactions, and oligodendrocyte pathology at the interface between gray and white matter. The project extends preliminary findings regarding transcript alterations in ependymal cells and their correlation with barrier compromise that may contribute to neurodegenerative progression independent of demyelination.

The research project will be conducted in Cleveland, Ohio, with a completion date of December 31, 2030. As a Project Grant mechanism under the NINDS extramural program, this award supports investigator-initiated basic and translational research designed to advance understanding of neurological disease mechanisms and reduce disability burden in MS patients, who number over 2.5 million worldwide. The funding represents investment in fundamental research that bridges laboratory-based neuropathological investigations with the clinical objective of developing improved prevention and treatment strategies for progressive MS.