Funded Projects

Explore our currently funded projects. You may search with all three fields, then focus your results by applying any of the dropdown filters. After customizing your search, you may download results and even save your specific search for later.

Project # Project Title Research Focus Area Research Program Administering IC Sort descending Institution(s) Investigator(s) Location(s) Year Awarded
4R33NS113315-02
Biomarker Signature to Predict the Persistence of Post-Traumatic Headache Clinical Research in Pain Management Discovery and Validation of Biomarkers, Endpoints, and Signatures for Pain Conditions NINDS MAYO CLINIC ARIZONA CHONG, CATHERINE DANIELA Scottsdale, AZ 2023
NOFO Title: Discovery of Biomarkers, Biomarker Signatures, and Endpoints for Pain (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Optional)
NOFO Number: RFA-NS-18-041
1R43NS110117-01
Development of a novel anti-migraine therapeutics Cross-Cutting Research Small Business Programs NINDS ADEPTHERA, LLC HSU, SHEAU-YU TEDDY Palo Alto, CA 2019
NOFO Title: PHS 2018-02 Omnibus Solicitation of the NIH, CDC, and FDA for Small Business Innovation Research Grant Applications (Parent SBIR [R43/R44] Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: PA-18-574
Summary:

New approaches that can effectively ameliorate acute and chronic migraine pain are urgently needed. Due to its critical roles in inducing migraine pain, CGRP and its receptor complex, the calcitonin receptor-like receptor (CLR) and receptor activity-modifying protein 1 (RAMP1) have been targeted for migraine treatment. A new strategy for targeting the CGRP-mediated signaling pathway is needed to meet the medical need of migraine patients. The team developed a group of long-acting CGRP/RAMP1-specific peptide super-antagonists that form gels in situ in aqueous solution. Based on this exciting finding, the investigators propose to develop and identify the most potent antagonistic analog candidates (Aim 1), and characterize the pharmacokinetics of gel depots made of the selected candidates in vivo (Aim 2). This feasibility study is needed to explore the translational potential of these newly invented super-antagonists for the treatment of chronic migraine in combination with conventional migraine agents. 

1R61NS114926-01
SPRINT: Signature for Pain Recovery IN Teens Preclinical and Translational Research in Pain Management Discovery and Validation of Biomarkers, Endpoints, and Signatures for Pain Conditions NINDS STANFORD UNIVERSITY SIMONS, LAURA E Stanford, CA 2019
NOFO Title: Discovery of Biomarkers, Biomarker Signatures, and Endpoints for Pain (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Optional)
NOFO Number: RFA-NS-18-041
Summary:

Up to 5 percent of adolescents suffer from high-impact chronic musculoskeletal (MSK) pain, and only about 50 percent with chronic MSK pain who present for treatment recover. Current treatments for chronic MSK pain are suboptimal and have been tied to the opioid crisis. Discovery of robust markers of the recovery versus persistence of pain and disability is essential to develop more resourceful and patient-specific treatment strategies, requiring measurements across multiple dimensions in the same patient cohort in combination with a suitable computational analysis pipeline. Preliminary data has implicated novel candidates for neuroimaging, immune, quantitative sensory, and psychological markers for discovery. In addition, a standardized specimen collection, processing, storage, and distribution system is in place, along with expertise in machine learning approaches to extract reliable and prognostic bio-signatures from a large and complex data set. This project will facilitate risk stratification and a resourceful selection of patients who are likely to respond to current multidisciplinary pain treatment approaches.

1U24NS115708-01
University of Pittsburgh Hub and Spoke Pain Clinical Trial Network Clinical Research in Pain Management Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network (EPPIC-Net) NINDS UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH WASAN, AJAY D (contact); ALTER, BENEDICT J Pittsburgh, PA 2019
NOFO Title: HEAL Initiative: Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network - Specialized Clinical Centers (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: RFA-NS-19-036
Summary:

For many years in the field of pain medicine it has been noted that many promising treatments emerging from animal studies fail to demonstrate efficacy in human trials. There are many reasons for these phenomena, and one of the key steps to improve this situation and establish more effective nonopioid treatments for pain is more rigorous conduct of multisite pain clinical trials from an experienced multidisciplinary team of investigators. The University of Pittsburgh Hub and Spoke Clinical Trials Network will establish an organizational structure to capitalize on institutional expertise at our Spokes to lead specific phase 2 clinical trials through EPPIC-Net.

3U24NS113844-02S1
EPPIC-NET DCC Clinical Research in Pain Management Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network (EPPIC-Net) NINDS NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE PETKOVA, EVA (contact); TROXEL, ANDREA B New York, NY 2021
NOFO Title: Notice of Special Interest to Encourage Eligible NIH HEAL Initiative Awardees to Apply for PA-20-222: Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (Admin Supp - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: NOT-NS-20-107
Summary:

There is a clear public health imperative to improve the care and outcomes of people who experience severe acute and chronic pain. The Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network (EPPIC-Net) is charged with conducting deep phenotyping and biomarker studies for specific pain conditions – and with conducting high-quality phase II clinical trials to test novel non-opioid pain treatments with academic and industry partners. This research will extend EPPIC-Net’s current portfolio to develop novel and efficient data-analytic methodologies for complex medical data, such as those that are expected to be generated by the clinical trials conducted by EPPIC-Net.