The Moody Brain Health Institute Pilot Grant Program

Moody Brain Health Institute's 3rd Annual Collaborative Pilot Grant Program Winners

The Moody Brain Health Institute, a neuroscience hub dedicated to rapidly advancing discoveries in biomedical neuroscience into clinical applications, has announced the recipients of its 3rd Annual Collaborative Pilot Grant Program.

“This year’s winning projects highlight the remarkable range of innovation driving our institute forward,” said Dr. Giulio Taglialatela, vice president of brain health and director of the Moody Brain Health Institute. “From studying how RSV affects the brain, to exploring new treatments for Alzheimer’s-related conditions, to creating advanced models of the brain’s blood vessels, and developing new imaging tools for safer surgeries — these awards represent the kind of bold, collaborative science that will define the future of brain health.”

This year’s awardees are:

Novel Mechanisms of RSV-associated Neurological Manifestations

Antonella Casola, MD

Professor, Department of Pediatrics

Division of Infectious Diseases

Balaji Krishnan, PhD

Associate Professor, Department of Neurology

Mitchell Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases

 

Towards Targeting HMGB1 for Intervention of Senescence in Tauopathies

Rakez Kayed, PhD

Professor, Department of Neurology

Mitchell Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases

Junji Iwahara, PhD

Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Sealy Center for Structural Biology & Molecular Biophysics

 

The Blood-Brain Barrier Breakthrough: A Human iPSC Neurovascular Unit on a Chip

Irma Cisneros, PhD

Department of Pathology

Elvis Cuevas, PhD

Assistant Professor Department of Neurology Member,

Mitchell Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases

Hemil Gonzales, MD

Assistant Professor Division of Infectious Diseases & Department of Internal Medicine

Moody Brain Health Institute

 

Shortwave Infrared Imaging for Enhanced Visualization in Fluorescence-Guided Surgery

Pablo Valdes Quevedo, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and of Neurobiology

Director of Neurosurgical Oncology and Brain Tumor Program

Alankar Kotwal, PhD

Department of Neurosurgery

Peter Kan, MD

Professor and Chair

Robert L. Moody, Sr. Distinguished University Chair

Department of Neurosurgery

Michelle Felicella, MD

Department of Pathology

Alejandro Villasante-Tezanos, PhD

Department of Biostatistics

Melisa Herrero Bocco, PhD

Department of Neurosurgery

 

For more information on The Moody Brain Health Institute, visit: https://www.utmb.edu/brainhealthinstitute.