Hugo W. Moser Research Institute At Kennedy Krieger, Inc.

Hugo W. Moser Research Institute At Kennedy Krieger, Inc. is a non-profit medical research organization headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, that receives federal funding primarily as a grant recipient and sub-recipient across National Institutes of Health institutes. The institute operates as a child entity within Kennedy Krieger Institute, a comprehensive pediatric disability services organization, and conducts investigator-initiated and collaborative neuroscience, neurological, and developmental research.

The institute's research capability portfolio centers on advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), and related neuroimaging modalities paired with translational and clinical research in neurological and neurodevelopmental disorders. Concrete representative work includes a $234.360 thousand award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) to identify phenotypic subtypes and disease trajectories in adrenomyeloneuropathy using quantitative sensorimotor measures and spinal cord MRI indices; a $683.107 thousand award from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to examine impacts of technology and digital media on cognitive and socioemotional development in children ages 3 to 6 years using structural and functional MRI; and a $661.953 thousand award from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering to develop unlabeled aspirin as an activatable contrast agent for chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) MRI imaging of inflammation. The institute operates the F.M. Kirby Research Center, which houses an 11.7-tesla preclinical MRI scanner and three human research MRI systems (two 3.0-tesla and one 7.0-tesla), providing infrastructure and imaging expertise to both internal investigators and external research partners from Johns Hopkins University and other institutions.

Federal funding concentration reflects the institute's NIH-dominant portfolio. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the National Institutes of Health broadly together account for a significant share of awards by volume. The top five customer NIH institutes—NINDS, the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development—dominate the recent award base. By potential value, the National Human Genome Research Institute leads at $180 thousand combined potential value across five awards, followed by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute at $75 thousand and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at $45 thousand. Recent grant activity shows steady growth, with 54 awards obligated in 2025 and 48 in 2026 year-to-date, compared to 17 in 2022, indicating sustained or increasing federal research engagement.

The institute holds no federal contract vehicles or IDIQs. Work is structured entirely through federal grant awards, typically project grants under NIH extramural research programs (CFDA 93.853, 93.865, 93.286, 93.310, and others), cooperative agreements, and resource core awards within multi-site consortia. Representative grant program participation includes the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders; the National Institute on Aging research programs; and rare disease clinical research network (RDCRN) projects such as the Global Leukodystrophy Initiative Clinical Trials Network and the Batten Disease Clinical Research Consortium, where the institute serves as a consortium site for natural history studies, biomarker development, and clinical trial infrastructure.

As a sub-recipient, the institute participates in 167 awards (41% of the 410-award portfolio) under prime grants held by Johns Hopkins University, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Washington University, and Drexel University. Sub-awards reflect the institute's role as a specialized imaging and research facility: providing MRI scanning, neuroimaging analysis, and recruitment and enrollment support for longitudinal studies and clinical trials in leukodystrophies, autism, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Down syndrome, and acute flaccid myelitis. The institute contributes neurobehavioral assessment, genetic counseling, clinical outcome measurement development, and specialized motor assessment (video-based pose estimation, high-density diffuse optical tomography) under these prime arrangements, often in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University faculty and clinical programs.

The institute's corporate structure positions it as a subsidiary of Kennedy Krieger Institute, Inc., enabling access to clinical patient populations and behavioral health services that support research recruitment and cross-disciplinary outcomes measurement. This alignment with a clinical pediatric rehabilitation center differentiates the institute's research portfolio toward applied and translational outcomes relevant to children with developmental disabilities and neurological conditions.

Recompete exposure in the next twenty-four months stands at 22 awards with combined potential value of $25 thousand, representing a modest near-term competitive renewal load. The institute's lack of direct federal contract awards and sole reliance on grant funding means competition occurs through peer-reviewed NIH grant mechanisms rather than competitive task-order or vehicle-based contracting processes.