Project Grant R44ES026225

This Project Grant award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), under the Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders (CFDA 93.853) federal grant program, aims to develop a hybrid differentiation strategy to efficiently derive region-specific cell populations, such as oligodendrocytes and neural crest progenitors, from human pluripotent stem cells. The $426,650 award, with a project period from June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2027, will...

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) awarded a $450,313 Project Grant (CFDA 93.853 - Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders) to The Johns Hopkins University to develop high-throughput screening (HTS) assays to identify activators of the nemo-like kinase (NLK) protein. The goal is to find small molecule compounds that can lower mutant huntingtin (mHTT) protein levels as a potential therapeutic approach for Huntington's...

This $900,804 Project Grant award from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) under the Environmental Health (CFDA 93.113) federal grant program supports the development and validation of an integrated microphysiological screening platform (MPS) with "virtual human" models to assess chemical toxicity. The key products and services to be delivered include: A 96-well MPS screening platform that combines elements of the awardee's commercial 48-well MPS with highly...

This Project Grant awarded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) under the Environmental Health (CFDA 93.113) program provides $295,734 to Litron Laboratories Ltd, a for-profit biotechnology company, to develop a comprehensive hen's egg model for genotoxicity testing. The project aims to create a non-animal, metabolically-active in vitro system that can effectively assess the genotoxic risk of pharmaceuticals and industrial chemicals. Key deliverables include...

This $213,945 Project Grant awarded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) under the Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.865) will support the development of an in vitro human spinal neural tube model to study the genetic and environmental factors contributing to the etiology of spina bifida. The project will utilize human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) to create 3D spinal neural tube organoids and a bioengineered...

This $306,118 Project Grant awarded by the National Eye Institute (NEI) under the Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867) aims to develop new technology and assays to test the efficacy and safety of investigational new drugs (INDs) for blinding diseases in functionally viable postmortem human donor eyes. The primary goals are to 1) establish ex vivo preclinical models for human ocular diseases and 2) develop a multichannel drug screening platform in light-responsive mouse and human retinas. This...

This Project Grant award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), under the Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders (CFDA 93.853) program, supports development of a novel screening technology to identify FDA-approved drugs that can promote functional recovery in spinal cord injury (SCI). The $411,136 award to the Texas A&M University System Health Science Center will fund a 3-step screening platform using adult cortical...

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) awarded a $431,750 Project Grant (CFDA 93.865 - Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research) to Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, to investigate how the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) affects the proliferation, specification and gene expression of human and mouse secondary neural progenitor cells. The goal is to establish IL-6 as a key target for intervention to prevent neurodevelopmental disorders like...

This Project Grant award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) under the Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders (CFDA 93.853) program will support the development and validation of Synapticure Inc.'s novel 3D in vitro platform for modeling genetic and sporadic frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Specifically, the $2,507,054 award will fund the generation and validation of Synapticure's Cortical Brain Spheroid (CBS) models...

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) awarded a 24-month, $430,375 Project Grant (CFDA 93.853) to Emory University to develop human organoid models for pediatric high-grade gliomas (PHGGs). The research aims to 1) create PHGG organoid models using human patient-derived cancer stem cells and 2) model how interactions between PHGG cells and the human neural microenvironment affect responses to tyrosine kinase inhibitors and other anti-tumor drugs. The goal is to...