Project Grant R44ES036385
- The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) awarded University of Hawaii at Manoa a Project Grant of $156,500 under the Environmental Health program (CFDA 93.113) on April 9, 2026, with completion anticipated by April 8, 2028. This grant supports the development and validation of new approach methodologies (NAMs) for developmental and reproductive toxicity (DART) assessment using morphogenesis models derived from pluripotent stem cells. The project deliverables include...
- This $500,000 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program aims to develop a novel human stem cell-based microfluidic developmental toxicology platform. The University of Michigan will receive funding from September 2022 to August 2024 to conduct technological development of a repeatable, controllable, high-throughput microfluidic system for generating three-dimensional multicellular organoid models for toxicity testing. The platform seeks...
- This K99 Project Grant, funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) under the Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.865), supports translational and clinical research to identify early-emerging biomarkers associated with neurodevelopmental risk, particularly autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The award of $2.7M, spanning September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2028, is being conducted at Rutgers The State University of New Jersey's...
- Federal Project Grant Award Summary The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) awarded $395,009 to the University of California, Davis on August 1, 2025, under the Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders program (CFDA 93.853). The two-year project, extending through July 31, 2027, supports foundational research to develop antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) therapy for ADNP syndrome (Helsmoortel-van der Aa syndrome), a severe...
- This federal Project Grant award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of the Director under the Trans-NIH Research Support program (CFDA 93.310) provides $2,357,335 to study neuronal dysfunction in Down syndrome (DS) and its link to Alzheimer's disease (AD). The key products and services delivered under this award include: Utilizing induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cortical organoids and assembloids to examine the cellular, transcriptomic, and motility-related...
- The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) awarded Xcellassay, Inc. a $306,872 Project Grant under the Environmental Health (CFDA 93.113) federal grant program. The grant funding will support the development and characterization of a hand-held, bioassay-based test strip for rapid, in-field detection of water contamination by endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). The goal is to create a 1 x 1.5 cm detection strip printed with 20 nuclear receptor sensors that can be...
- This National Science Foundation (NSF) Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) Project Grant award of $275,000 to Brainstorm Therapeutics, Inc. aims to develop and validate a novel Parkinson's disease drug discovery platform using patient-derived midbrain organoids. The platform will guide therapeutic candidate identification, patient selection, and trial endpoint refinement to accelerate the development of effective disease-modifying Parkinson's treatments. Key innovations...
- Federal Project Grant Award Summary The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) awarded $2.74 million under the Environmental Health program (CFDA 93.113) to the University of Illinois to investigate the neurodevelopmental impacts of phthalate exposure on social behavior circuits. The project, which commenced September 15, 2025, and will conclude September 14, 2029, will deliver comprehensive research examining how developmental exposure to phthalates—ubiquitous industrial...
- Federal Grant Award Summary The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) awarded Tufts College $426,650 under the Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders (CFDA 93.853) program on June 1, 2025, with a completion date of May 31, 2027. This Project Grant supports the development of hybrid differentiation strategies to generate region-specific cell populations derived from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), specifically focusing on...
- This Project Grant award, valued at $481,250.00 and provided by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) under the Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders (CFDA 93.853) program, aims to develop a synthetic biological system to manipulate subcellular RNAs and proteins in growth cones or synapses of subtype- and context-specific neurons. The goal is to enable unique forms of subcellular functional investigation in subtype- and...
AN ASSAY SUITE FEATURING HIPSC-DERIVED NEURONS AND SUPPORT CELLS, TO TEST TOXICANTS AND INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS FOR DEVELOPMENTAL NEUROTOXIC EFFECTS - THIS "DIRECT TO PHASE II" PROJECT, PROPOSED IN RESPONSE TO RFA-ES-23-008 "NOVEL APPROACHES FOR DEVELOPMENTAL NEUROTOXICITY TESTING (R43/R44)", WILL DEVELOP A SUITE OF IN VITRO ASSAYS TO TEST COMPOUNDS FOR POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENTAL NEUROTOXIC (DNT) EFFECTS. NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS (NDS, INCLUDING AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER, INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, ATTENTION-DEFICIT/HYPERACTIVITY AND OTHERS) AFFECT AT LEAST 15% OF PEOPLE IN THE USA, APPEAR IN CHILDHOOD/EARLY ADULTHOOD, AND CANNOT BE CURED. NDS ORIGINATE FROM DYSREGULATION OF BRAIN DEVELOPMENT DURING EARLY LIFE (FETAL, NEONATAL, AND CHILDHOOD), DURING WHICH THE DEVELOPING CNS IS PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE TO ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICANTS AND MANY OF THESE CHEMICALS HAVE BEEN LINKED TO NDS (E.G., MERCURY, PESTICIDES, AIR POLLUTANTS). IN THE PAST, SUCH COMPOUNDS HAVE BEEN INVESTIGATED FOR ND EFFECTS, VIA EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES, ONLY AFTER THEY CAUSE NEUROTOXICITY TO ADULTS; THIS APPROACH HAS TRAGIC, GLOBAL, CONSEQUENCES, SINCE DECADES OF RESEARCH ARE REQUIRED TO ESTABLISH THE LINKS BETWEEN ADULT NEUROTOXICITY AND DNT, DURING WHICH THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN BECOME IMPAIRED THROUGH EXPOSURE TO THE CULPRIT TOXICANT. OUR PROJECT WILL DEVELOP STANDARDIZED, HIGH THROUGHPUT, ASSAYS TO TEST CHEMICALS FOR SUCH EFFECTS. THE DEVNEUROTOXASSAY (DNTA) SUITE WILL INCLUDE ASSAYS TO TEST COMPOUNDS FOR EFFECTS ON NEUROGENESIS, A KEY PROCESSES IN EARLY BRAIN FORMATION (DNTA-NEUROGENESIS), ON NEURONAL CIRCUIT FORMATION/ACTIVITY, RELEVANT TO NEURONAL CIRCUITS WITHIN THE BRAIN (DNTA-NEUROCIRCUITRY), ON DEVELOPMENT OF 3-D NEURAL ORGANOIDS, (DNTA-NEURAL ORGANOIDS), AND ON DEVELOPMENT AND FUNCTION OF THE BLOOD-BRAIN BARRIER, A STRUCTURE THAT PROTECTS THE BRAIN FROM TOXICANTS AND PATHOGENS (DNTA-BBB). THE DNTA ASSAYS WILL FEATURE NEURONS, GLIAL, AND SUPPORT CELLS DERIVED FROM HUMAN INDUCED PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS, CULTURED IN EITHER 2-D OR 3-D CONFIGURATIONS. AUTOMATED DIGITAL MICROSCOPY WILL BE USED TO QUANTIFY EFFECTS OF CHEMICALS ON BIOMARKERS AND STRUCTURES (HIGH CONTENT ANALYSIS, HCA); ADDITIONALLY, EFFECTS OF COMPOUNDS ON BIOLOGICAL NEURONAL CIRCUITS WILL BE QUANTIFIED VIA COLLECTION/ANALYSIS OF DIGITAL MOVIES (FRAME RATES UP TO 100 FRAMES PER SECOND, USING KINETIC IMAGE CYTOMETRY, [KIC]). COMPOUNDS FROM THE NATIONAL TOXICOLOGY PROGRAM DNT CHEMICAL LIBRARY WILL BE USED TO DEVELOP, VALIDATE, AND DEMONSTRATE THE UTILITY OF THE DNTAS. SINCE THE DNTAS WILL FEATURE HUMAN CELLS, THE RESULTS OBTAINED WILL BE MORE PREDICTIVE OF HUMAN OUTCOMES VS. TESTS CONDUCTED ON ANIMALS OR ANIMAL CELLS. VALA SCIENCES INC. HAS RECENTLY DEVELOPED SIMILAR ASSAYS TO TEST CANDIDATE ANTI-HIV THERAPEUTICS FOR NEUROTOXICITY, AND THIS PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE WILL EXPEDITE RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF THE DNTAS.
Mod # | Description | ReasonForModification | Federal Obligation | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not listed | $755.7k | 5/27/25 | ||
| Not listed | $0 | 1/27/25 | ||
| Not listed | $0 | 1/27/25 | ||
| Not listed | $1.2m | 6/20/24 | ||
| Not listed | $1.2m | 6/20/24 |