The following departmental faculty were awarded new competitive and non-competitive research grants (of $100,000 +) during calendar year 2026.
Alicia Bedolla, PhD
Effect of Amyloid Pathology on Neurovascular Integrity in Postoperative Delirium Superimposed on Dementia
Award Date: 9/17/2026
Award Type: F32
Funding Agency: National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging
Grant Amount: $237,708
Leah Acker, MD, PhD
Bidirectional Relationships Between Plasma Tau Phosphorylation Markers and Postoperative Delirium
Award Date: 9/2/2026
Award Type: R21
Funding Agency: National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging
Grant Amount: $444,125
Katherine T. Martucci, PhD
Toward CNS Correlates of Autonomic Dysfunction in Painful TMD
Award Date: 9/2/2026
Award Type: R21
Funding Agency: National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Dental & Craniofacial Research
Grant Amount: $444,125
Ru-Rong Ji, PhD
Glial Neuronal Crosstalk in Neuropathic Pain and Diabetes
Award Date: 8/31/2026
Award Type: R01
Funding Agency: National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Grant Amount: $3,503,160
Niccolò Terrando, BSc, DIC, PhD
Defining the Role of Lipocalin-2 in Postoperative Delirium
Award Date: 8/25/2026
Award Type: R01
Funding Agency: National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging
Grant Amount: $2,969,873
Sven-Eric Jordt, PhD
Assessing the Abuse Liability of 6-Methyl Nicotine
Award Date: 8/19/2026
Funding Agency: National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Drug Abuse
Grant Amount: $2,900,402
Benjamin Andrew, MD
HaiscoPharmaceuticals_HSK3486-401
Award Date: 7/10/2026
Funding Agency: Haisco-USA Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Richard E. Moon, MD, CM, MSc, FRCP, FACP, FCCP
Perfluoromethane as a Decompression Gas for Human Diving (CLIN 2001)
Award Date: 7/7/2026
Funding Agency: Naval Sea Systems Command
Grant Amount: $153,780
George "Bert" Cortina, MD
Tissue-Specific Membrane Determinants of Local Anesthetic Entry and Sodium Channel Access
Award Date: 6/24/2026
Funding Agency: Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER)
Grant Amount: $300,000
Martha Kenney, MD
Convening to Support Engagement in Patient-Centered CER Related to Lessening Medical Stress in Children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Award Date: 5/22/2026
Funding Agency: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
Grant Amount: $124,652
Huaxin Sheng, MD
Evaluation of Nuclease Activity in Acute Brain Injury
Award Date: 5/18/2026
Funding Agency: Resolve Therapeutics, LLC
Richard E. Moon, MD, CM, MSc, FRCP, FACP, FCCP
Duke Study for NASA AETHER Prebreathe Protocol
Award Date: 5/6/2026
Funding Agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Grant Amount: $349,979
Ru-Rong Ji, PhD (Multi-Institutional PI)
Neurotensin 1 Allosteric Modulator for the Treatment of Pain
Award Date: 4/17/26
Funding Agency: National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Grant Amount: $3,855,681
Loreta Grecu, MD
Preoperative Fasting vs. Not Fasting in Mechanically Ventilated Patients who Receive Tube Feeding: A Pragmatic Comparative Safety Trial
Award Date: 4/8/2026
Funding Agency: Massachusetts General Hospital / PCORI
Grant Amount: $343,396
Michael Devinney, MD, PhD
The Relationship of Plasma p-tau217 with Alzheimer's Disease Neuropathology and Long-Term Cognitive Impairment in Older Surgical and Critically Ill Patients with Multiple Chronic Conditions
Award Date: 4/7/2026
Funding Agency: ADACC Network
Grant Amount: $158,000
David B. MacLeod, MB BS, FRCA, Dip IMC
Edwards ClearSats-Motion
Award Date: 3/12/2026
Funding Agency: Edwards Lifesciences, LLC
David B. MacLeod, MB BS, FRCA, Dip IMC
Empatica_EmbracePlus
Award Date: 3/6/2026
Funding Agency: Empatica Inc.
David B. MacLeod, MB BS, FRCA, Dip IMC
Respiration from Pleth Validation
Award Date: 1/27/2026
Funding Agency: Philips Medizin-Systeme Boeblingen GmbH