Three major U.S. research institutions are celebrating a wave of prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) awards, marking a pivotal moment for medical innovation and mentorship across the country. Over the past week, scientists from Nemours Children’s Health in Delaware, the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and UMass Chan Medical School have received significant federal grants—each designed to push the boundaries of current biomedical understanding and accelerate the translation of discoveries into patient care.
On October 16, 2025, Dr. Rodney Scott, Division Chief of Neurology at Nemours Children’s Health, Delaware Valley, was awarded a $2.6 million, five-year NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award. According to Nemours Children’s Health, Dr. Scott’s project aims to uncover the shared neural circuitry underlying three of the most challenging brain disorders: autism, epilepsy, and Alzheimer’s disease. Rather than treating these conditions as entirely separate, Dr. Scott’s research focuses on the hippocampus—the brain region responsible for memory and emotions—seeking common patterns of dysfunction that might open the door to unified therapies.
“In disorders like autism, epilepsy, and Alzheimer’s, the part of the brain called the hippocampus doesn’t function properly. Current treatments target each disease separately, often with limited success,” Dr. Scott explained in a statement. “Instead, our research will look for shared abnormal brain activity patterns across conditions. If found, we will develop novel methods of brain stimulation that could restore healthy hippocampal function across a range of disorders.”
The NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award is part of a broader High-Risk, High-Reward Research program, which supports ambitious, interdisciplinary projects that challenge conventional thinking. Dr. Scott’s initiative is especially notable for its collaborative approach: he will work alongside Dr. Matt Mahoney, Principal Computational Scientist at the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine. Dr. Scott’s team will gather detailed biological data, while Dr. Mahoney’s group will develop mathematical models to analyze the complex neural disruptions at play. This partnership, as Nemours emphasizes, is designed to accelerate discovery by merging clinical insight with computational power.
Dr. Scott, who joined Nemours Children’s in 2021 after an international career spanning Zimbabwe, England, and the U.S., has already made a mark in epilepsy management and the application of systems theory to neurological disease. The new grant, said Matthew M. Davis, executive vice president and chief scientific officer at Nemours Children’s Health, “allows investigators like Dr. Scott to develop and rigorously test innovative ideas that are not in the mainstream.” Dr. Davis added, “Through this research, it may be possible to improve cognitive function and quality of life for patients with a broad range of neurological conditions, in childhood and adulthood.”
Meanwhile, at the Perelman School of Medicine, six researchers were recognized on October 15, 2025, with NIH Director’s High-Risk, High-Reward Research awards. As reported by the university, these awards span several categories—Pioneer, New Innovator, and Early Independence—each tailored to support unconventional and high-impact biomedical and behavioral science projects.
The Pioneer Award, which honors scientists with a track record of groundbreaking approaches, was given to cell and developmental biology professor Roberto Bonasio and neurosurgery professor Casey Halpern. Bonasio’s work delves into the molecular mechanisms of epigenetic memory, particularly how noncoding RNAs help cells “remember” their roles. His latest project, supported by the award, investigates how planarian flatworms retain memories even after their brains are regenerated—a puzzle that could reshape our understanding of memory at its most fundamental level.
Halpern’s research, on the other hand, targets new technologies to treat brain disorders such as major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and substance use disorder. These efforts, the university notes, could pave the way for safer, more effective interventions for millions of patients.
The New Innovator Award at Penn went to endocrinology professor David Michael Merrick, whose project proposes that thermogenic adipose—energy-burning fat cells—may be harnessed to boost metabolism in obese patients. If successful, this line of research could lead to entirely new cell-based therapies for obesity, a condition affecting a growing share of the U.S. population.
Three early-career Penn scientists—Lucie Guo (ophthalmology), Elizabeth Traxler (hematology-oncology), and Leo Le Wang (dermatology)—received the Early Independence Award, which enables newly graduated researchers to launch independent labs without the traditional postdoctoral phase. Guo is developing smart gene therapies that adapt to disease conditions to protect and restore vision. Traxler is investigating gene regulation in red blood cell development, with implications for disorders like sickle cell disease and thalassemia. Wang’s research centers on hydrogels that deliver healing signals to skin wounds, promoting hair follicle regeneration and scar-free healing. The Perelman School of Medicine highlighted that these awards build on a history of NIH recognition, with three similar honors granted to Penn researchers in 2023.
Finally, on October 17, 2025, Dr. Stephanie Carreiro, associate professor of emergency medicine at UMass Chan Medical School, received a five-year Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. According to UMass Chan Medical School, this grant is unique in that it supports not only Dr. Carreiro’s research but also her mentorship of up-and-coming clinician-scientists. “This award is unique because it not only supports my career development, but more importantly, it provides opportunities for the faculty and trainees I mentor,” Dr. Carreiro said. “It allows me to help investigators at all different stages—predoctoral, postdoctoral and especially junior faculty—build their research careers.”
Dr. Carreiro’s lab is advancing precision medicine for opioid use disorder by integrating wearable sensors and smartphone-based tools to collect physiological and psychiatric data. These data are then fed into AI-driven models that predict how individuals will respond to treatment, with the goal of tailoring care to each patient’s unique biology and life circumstances. “When people think about precision medicine, they often think about remarkable advances in cancer care or rare genetic diseases,” she explained. “We’re applying the same principles to opioid use disorder—understanding how someone’s biology, environment and day-to-day experiences interact to shape their treatment response. Ultimately, our goal is to tailor care to each individual.”
Beyond her own research, Dr. Carreiro is passionate about mentoring the next generation of clinical investigators. “Patient care is incredibly fulfilling, but at the same time medicine is full of unknowns,” she said. “Watching new investigators identify a problem they’re passionate about, pursue it rigorously and then see their findings applied in the clinic is incredibly rewarding. Mentorship helps sustain that sense of purpose and satisfaction in medicine over the span of a career.”
These awards, spanning the spectrum from basic science to clinical application, underscore the NIH’s commitment to fostering innovation and supporting researchers at every career stage. Whether it’s decoding the mysteries of memory, reimagining therapies for brain disorders, or personalizing addiction treatment, the projects funded this week promise to shape the future of medicine—and, perhaps just as importantly, to inspire the next generation of scientific leaders.
