Stem cell research — NIH Funding Overview

Why this matters now

iPSC-based disease modeling and CRISPR-edited iPSC platforms have become standard tools across many NIH portfolios, while clinical translation continues in cardiac, hepatic, and ocular regeneration. The NIH Regenerative Medicine Innovation Project supports late-stage translational work.

How NIH funds this area

Mechanisms span R01, U01, P01, R21, and U24 (data/resource cores). The Stem Cell Translation Laboratory at NCATS supports characterization. Data below covers all NIH awards mentioning stem cell in title, abstract, or terms.

Yearly NIH Awards for Stem cell research

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 Stem cell research →

Top NIH Institutes (last 90 days)

Which NIH institutes funded the most Stem cells 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 Stem cells in the recent period.

Most Active Institutions (last 90 days)

Universities and research organizations with the most Stem cells awards in the most recent 90-day window.

1. STANFORD UNIVERSITY — 22 awards
2. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO — 14 awards
3. BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE — 12 awards
4. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO — 12 awards
5. NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY — 12 awards
6. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR — 11 awards
7. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES — 11 awards
8. UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA — 11 awards

Recently Awarded Stem cell research Grants

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

• Development of a stem-cell derived thymic cell therapy to treat patients with athymia

  5R44AI170266-05
  BING LIM · THYMMUNE THERAPEUTICS, INC, MA · $1,000,000 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · R44

  PROJECT SUMMARY Athymic patients, or those born without a thymus, have a complete absence of functional T cells; such patients will die within the first two years of life without functional T cells from complications associated with immunodeficiency. There are several causes of athymia, including 22q11.2 deletion (i.e., DiGeorge Syndrome), which is…

• The Role of MicroRNAs in Normal and Diseased Corneal Epithelial Homeostasis

  5R01EY025377-09
  Mehrnoosh Ghiam · CEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER, CA · $555,402 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · R01

  Corneal diseases and injuries leading to visual impairment have significant impact on the quality of life of patients and constitute a major problem for health care system. Corneal diseases are often manifested through limbal epithelial stem cell (LESC) dysfunction and loss, leading to corneal opacity, visual impairment, and blindness. LESC located in the…

• MSC implantation as a treatment for developmental brain defects in craniosynostosis

  5R01NS136377-03
  Jianfu Chen · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, CA · $676,648 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · R01

  PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Craniosynostosis is a craniofacial disorder, which is characterized by the premature fusion of cranial sutures with the loss of mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs). Some craniosynostosis have neurocognitive deficits, which are attributed to abnormally increased intracranial pression (ICP). However, the causes of ICP elevation and…

• Effectiveness of the HPV Vaccine in Immunocompromised Populations

  5R01AI186576-03
  Michael Silverberg · KAISER FOUNDATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE, CA · $824,487 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · R01

  PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Immunocompromised individuals—such as people with HIV (PWH), autoimmune conditions, and a history of solid organ or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation—bear a significantly higher burden of human papillomavirus (HPV)-related anogenital disease compared with immunocompetent people. While HPV vaccination offers a key opportunity…

• Stanford Mendelian Genomics Research Center

  3U01HG011762-05S1
  Stephen Montgomery · STANFORD UNIVERSITY, CA · $2,452,994 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · U01

  ABSTRACT Rapid advances in genomics have ushered in new opportunities for Mendelian disease discovery and diagnosis. In the last decade, exome and genome sequencing have moved from the research domain to clinical practice. These approaches have identified new disease genes and causative variants for ~30% of individuals suffering from a rare genetic disease.…

• Molecular Determinants of the Alveolar Epithelial Plasticity Window

  5R01HL169382-03
  Douglas Brownfield · MAYO CLINIC ROCHESTER, MN · $616,319 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · R01

  PROJECT SUMMARY The alveolus is lined by two epithelial cell types: thin gas-exchanging alveolar type 1 (AT1) cells and cuboidal surfactant-producing AT2 cells. Both are selected from a common distal progenitor by FGF, Notch, and stretch signaling. Injury in the adult lung activates AT2 into a facultative progenitor state to regenerate lost AT1 and AT2…

• Evaluation of genetic and epigenetic determinants of response in patients with accelerated and blast phase Myeloproliferative Neoplasm (MPNs)

  1R21CA313410-01
  Raajit Rampal · SLOAN-KETTERING INST CAN RESEARCH, NY · $444,590 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · R21

  PROJECT ABSTRACT The Philadelphia-chromosome negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are clonal hematopoietic stem cell disorders, which include polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocytosis (ET), and primary myelofibrosis (PMF). MPNs carry an inherent risk of progression to advanced MPN, consisting of accelerated- phase disease (AP; 10-19% blasts…

• Genetic underpinnings of craniofacial disorders explored with spatial sequencing

  5R01DE033016-04
  Hannele RUOHOLA-BAKER · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, WA · $720,220 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · R01

  Malformations of the oral cavity, which include dental anomalies (hypodontia, hyperdontia), cleft lip and or cleft plate (orofacial cleft, OFC), and salivary gland anomalies (ectopic or aplasia), are among the most common birth defects in the US. The design of preventative therapies for these disorders will require a precise understanding of the…

• Early Life Stress, Cellular Vulnerability, and the Developmental Programming of Metabolic Disease

  1R01DK147563-01
  Lauren Gyllenhammer · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE, CA · $776,971 · awarded Jun 4, 2026 · R01

  PROJECT SUMMARY Early life stress (ELS), particularly during fetal development, is a critical risk factor for long-term health, including obesity and metabolic disorders. This project investigates how prenatal stress exposure is biologically embedded, leading to increased vulnerability to abdominal adiposity and metabolic dysfunction. Our long-term goal is…

• Immune evasive mouse models for transplantation research

  1R03AI196408-01
  Deepta Bhattacharya · UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA, AZ · $155,479 · awarded Jun 4, 2026 · R03

  Abstract: Decades of research on transplantation have made it clear that the immunological barriers to engraftment are substantial. The goal of this proposal is to generate transgenic mouse models that will allow standardized and orthogonal testing of pathways important for overcoming transplantation barriers, and through this work, instruct efforts in…

• Mechanisms of Metabolic Dysregulation in ZZ Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency Associated Liver Disease

  5K08DK140640-02
  Joseph Kaserman · BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS, MA · $166,752 · awarded Jun 3, 2026 · K08

  This proposal details a 5-year career development training program focused on studying the basic mechanistic underpinnings of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) associated liver disease with the goal of developing new treatments for these patients while simultaneously providing the necessary training required for Dr. Kaserman to become a future…

• Modulating Glial Fate and Function in Development and Disease

  5R35NS116842-07
  Paul Tesar · CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY, OH · $875,740 · awarded Jun 3, 2026 · R35

  SUMMARY Many of the 100 billion neurons in the human central nervous system require a protective and insulating coating called myelin to function properly. Loss or damage of this myelin coating underlies many neurological disorders and therefore regeneration of new myelin is an important part of improving health for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS),…

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