Xavier University Of Louisiana

Xavier University Of Louisiana, a historically black college and university based in New Orleans, Louisiana, acts as a federal grant recipient (92% of recent awards as prime recipient) across basic and applied research, higher education programming, and institutional strengthening initiatives funded by civilian research agencies and the Department of Defense. The institution does not hold federal contracts or hold seats on contract vehicles; its federal footprint is entirely grant-based research and educational funding.

Xavier operates across 59 distinct federal customer agencies over the past several years, with research concentration in biological sciences, chemistry, computational mathematics, and health disparities. The top five funding agencies by award count account for 46% of recent grants: the National Science Foundation (32 awards across NSF's Integrative Activities, Biological Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, and STEM Education programs), the Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education (24 awards supporting undergraduate research, graduate programming, McNair Scholars, and institutional capacity), the Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health (21 awards), the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (18 awards), and the Department of the Army (16 awards). By potential value, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Shared Services Center anchors $7 million in combined potential value across eight awards, primarily for environmental measurement research — notably including a $582,245 Surface-Based Measurement Initiative for Environmental/Air Quality Monitoring award (21-IPMSI21-0023) running through September 2027. Research funding from NIH programs includes $150,000 for cancer biology research on EGFR-TKI-induced apoptosis in non-small-cell lung cancer (led by Principal Investigator Hector Biliran Jr.), $1.7 million for health informatics infrastructure through the PREDICT Institute (Precision Medicine, Education, Data Informatics and Community Translation) under the National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities, and $824,010 for molecular characterization of epithelial cell survival mechanisms from NSF's Integrative Activities program.

Education-focused grants include a $2.035 million Department of Education award for strengthening institutional programming through September 2027, and NSF-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site awards: $465,000 for a 10-week summer program training 30 undergraduates annually in natural and synthetic mechanisms altering biological processes (2027–2029), and $399,750 under the STEM Education HBCU-UP program to develop course-based undergraduate research in genetics characterizing MSH6 variants linked to Lynch syndrome. The Department of Defense Office of the Secretary of Defense funded two awards totaling $1.7 million for linkage of spectroscopic measurement instruments and basic research in science and engineering; earlier DoD support includes a $797,404 four-year award initiated June 2023 for undisclosed basic research.

Xavier participates as sub-recipient in collaborative federal grants led by partner institutions. Recent sub-award participation includes the Louisiana Center for Clinical and Translational Science (LA CaTS) through Pennington Biomedical Research Center, with Xavier managing a Community Engagement and Outreach Core addressing health disparities in urban and rural safety-net clinics; the Future Use of Energy in Louisiana (FUEL) engine research cluster through Louisiana State University, with Xavier supporting research capacity-building and innovation ambassador roles; and the EFRC Center for Mesoscale Transport Properties through SUNY-Research Foundation. Xavier also participates in a multi-institution HBCU-CAN climate action network consortium with Coppin State University, Fayetteville State University, Hampton University, and Kentucky State University, funded through NSF at $824,010 to coordinate climate science and environmental justice research.

Activity has been variable across the five most recent years (2022: 10 awards; 2023: 8; 2024: 16; 2025: 9; 2026: 7 as of early October), with 16 awards carrying ultimate completion dates within the next twenty-four months and combined potential value of $582,000 facing recompete or close-out. The institution's research capacity centers on STEM education and workforce development at an HBCU, with thematic concentration in molecular biology and cell death pathways, computational chemistry and materials science, environmental science and climate adaptation, health informatics and population health equity, and mathematics applied to biological systems. Work is performed at Xavier's New Orleans campus with subordinate field and laboratory components at partner institutions and coastal research sites including Lake Pontchartrain wetlands.