Long COVID and post-acute sequelae — NIH Funding Overview

Why this matters now

PASC affects millions of Americans and remains poorly understood mechanistically. Continuing congressional appropriations to RECOVER and adjacent programs at NHLBI, NINDS, NIAID, and NIMH make long COVID one of the few research areas with stable, predictable federal investment through the late 2020s.

How NIH funds this area

Most long COVID awards are U01, U19, U54 cooperative agreements tied to RECOVER, with R01 and R21 grants supporting mechanistic substudies. The data below covers all NIH ICs mentioning long COVID or PASC in award text.

What the data shows

• Funding peaked in FY2024 at $131M. The FY2025 total of $108M is +332% versus FY2021.
• The number of awards rose about 3% in FY2025.
• About 78% of FY2026 dollars so far are renewals and continuations. Mid-year snapshots overweight renewals because non-competing continuations are issued early in the fiscal year, but the share still indicates how much of the portfolio is committed before new applications compete.
• The average FY2025 award was $687K, and R01 was the most common mechanism in the recent window.

Yearly NIH Awards for Long COVID and post-acute sequelae

Counts and total funding per fiscal year from NIH RePORTER. Recent fiscal years may understate final totals because of reporting lag.

Open the full interactive trends view for Long COVID and post-acute sequelae →

Top NIH Institutes (last 90 days)

Which NIH institutes funded the most Long COVID projects in the most recent 90-day window.

Common Activity Codes (last 90 days)

Which grant mechanisms (R01, R21, U01, P30, etc.) appeared most often for Long COVID in the recent period.

Most Active Institutions (last 90 days)

Universities and research organizations with the most Long COVID awards in the most recent 90-day window.

1. JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY — 2 awards
2. NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY — 2 awards
3. WEILL MEDICAL COLL OF CORNELL UNIV — 2 awards
4. MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA — 1 awards
5. VA SALT LAKE CITY HEALTHCARE SYSTEM — 1 awards
6. OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY — 1 awards
7. LOUISIANA STATE UNIV HSC SHREVEPORT — 1 awards
8. VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION — 1 awards

Recently Awarded Long COVID and post-acute sequelae Grants

Twelve most recent awards mentioning Long COVID, drawn from NIH RePORTER. Click through to Find PIs for the full investigator search.

• Hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI to identify structural determinants of low lung function and respiratory symptoms in young adults from the Lung Health Cohort

  5R01HL168446-04
  Peter Niedbalski · UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS MEDICAL CENTER, KS · $758,199 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · R01

  PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Chronic lung disease is a leading cause of disability and death, in large part because it is often diagnosed after irreversible lung damage has occurred. The American Lung Association (ALA) Lung Health Cohort (LHC) was funded by NHLBI to elucidate factors associated with peak lung health and the early deviations from lung health…

• Pediatric Chronic Headache and COVID-19: Use of Machine Learning and Biobehavioral Analysis to Classify Headache Mechanism and Optimize Treatment Course.

  5R01NS125265-05
  Scott Holmes · BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL, MA · $543,254 · awarded Jun 3, 2026 · R01

  Chronic pain experienced by children has the potential to persist into adulthood and drive drug addiction, mental health problems and suicidal behavior. The level of pain reported by children who experience headache is immense and likely poorly estimated based on lowered ability of children to articulate symptoms, potential malingering or underreporting of…

• Evaluating SARS-CoV-2 spike antigen-induced coagulopathy and neuroinflammation as mechanistic drivers of neurologic PASC

  5R01NS136197-03
  Michael Peluso · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, CA · $638,184 · awarded May 21, 2026 · R01

  PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) can affect multiple organ systems and result in functional impairment. Neurologic PASC symptoms (neuro-PASC) including cognitive impairment, headache, and neuropathy are among the most debilitating. Structural and functional brain changes – as defined by changes in cerebral blood…

• Determining the Incidence, Risk Factors and Biological Drivers of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) as Part of the Constellation of Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection (PASC) Outcomes

  5R01DK135483-04
  Kristen Pogreba-Brown · UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA, AZ · $652,015 · awarded May 20, 2026 · R01

  Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) affects an estimated 10-15% of the U.S population and induces morphologic and physiological abnormalities significantly impairing one’s quality of life and is the most common diagnosis of a heterogeneous group of gastrointestinal disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBI). The risk of IBS following an acute gastrointestinal…

• Quantitative Detection of Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction in Long COVID Patients using a Comprehensive, Rapid, Free-Breathing Cardiovascular MRI

  5R01HL167148-04
  Daniel Kim · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY, IL · $712,698 · awarded May 19, 2026 · R01

  Project Summary/Abstract: Post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC), which occurs up to 30% of COVID- 19 infections, has emerged as a significant healthcare issue in the US. The mechanisms, diagnostic imaging tests, and therapies for persistent symptoms caused by PASC remain unknown. The CDC describes PASC symptoms as difficult to explain and manage due to…

• Characterization Of The Specialized Pro-Resolving Lipid Mediator Metabolome and Implications For Their Endogenous Formation

  7R01GM157599-02
  Ginger Milne · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM, AL · $335,278 · awarded May 19, 2026 · R01

  PROJECT SUMMARY Out of control, or dysregulated, inflammation is a hallmark of numerous human diseases. Oxidized lipid mediators, oxylipins, are short-lived autacoids that play important roles in the etiology of inflammation. Quantification of urinary metabolites of prostaglandins and leukotrienes has been a key approach towards understanding of the role of…

• Mechanistic Investigation of Chronic Neuropathologic Interaction Between Viral Infection and Progression of Lewy Pathology and Dementia

  1R01NS148641-01
  Xiaohong Lu · LOUISIANA STATE UNIV HSC SHREVEPORT, LA · $582,172 · awarded May 14, 2026 · R01

  Project Summary/Abstract Neuropathological interactions between COVID-19 and ADRD suggest shared molecular and cellular mechanisms. A recent case series study revealed striking cutaneous Lewy pathology (phosphorylated α- synuclein) in Long-COVID Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) patients. Animal studies consistently show that viral infection…

• Evaluating the Long-term Health Consequences of COVID-19 and Rehabilitation Therapies to Speed Convalescence

  5I01RX003810-04
  Joel Trinity · VA SALT LAKE CITY HEALTHCARE SYSTEM, UT · awarded May 13, 2026 · I01

  COVID-19 induces profound vascular endothelial dysfunction, the long-term impact of which is unknown. Moreover, recovery from COVID-19 is delayed in a substantial number of COVID-19 patients (~ 30-40%) and characterized by persistent symptoms of fatigue, weakness, and neurocognitive deficits commonly referred to as “long-COVID”. The overall objective of…

• Cognitive rehabilitation to improve functioning in Veterans following COVID-19

  5IK2RX004764-03
  TARA AUSTIN · VA SAN DIEGO HEALTHCARE SYSTEM, CA · awarded May 13, 2026 · IK2

  2-8% of the US population report “long COVID” symptoms – including “brain fog,” thinking difficulties, memory problems, and psychiatric symptoms such as sleep disturbance, anxiety, and depression. Rates of post- COVID-19 symptoms are nearly double in the Veteran population. These cognitive symptoms contribute to functional impairments, reduced quality of…

• Clinical foundation model for structured clinical data

  5R01LM014249-04
  Laila Bekhet · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCI CTR HOUSTON, TX · $351,000 · awarded May 12, 2026 · R01

  Abstract In the era of big clinical data, the availability of rich real-world clinical data sources (RWcD) enables the development of predictive models for different clinical events, bringing the potential to improve efficiency and lower the cost of health care. However, the currently in-use models in practice are mostly trained on local data, introducing…

• Megakaryocyte regulation by the gut microbiome

  5R01HL169989-04
  Melody Zeng · WEILL MEDICAL COLL OF CORNELL UNIV, NY · $624,398 · awarded May 12, 2026 · R01

  Abnormal and potentially life-threatening blood clotting is seen in other severe infections, such as SARS- CoV-2, MERS, and H1N1 influenza. Platelets are produced by megakaryocytes. Enhanced megakaryopoiesis is found in severe COVID-19. Increased megakaryopoiesis is commonly found in autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus…

• Molecular Targets Modulating Neuro COVID Sequelae Linked to Tauopathy

  5R01AG086245-03
  SUBHRA MOHAPATRA · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA, FL · $749,994 · awarded May 12, 2026 · R01

  The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 (CoV2) virus has left a large cohort of individuals suffering from ongoing neurological sequelae known as neuro-COVID. The condition involves CoV2 neurotropism and long-term inflammatory responses, including increases in neurodegenerative and neurotoxic proteins such as tau. Despite progress made, the molecular…

Related topics

• Microbiome research
• Mental health and psychiatric research