EurekAlert! National Institutes of Health

Latest news releases from NIH-funded organizations

Funded Research News

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 28-Oct-2026 12:16 ET (28-Oct-2026 16:16 GMT/UTC)

15-Jul-2026

Medical School research team receives $10 Million NIH grant to study how animals fight infection

University of Minnesota Medical School
Grant and Award Announcement

A University of Minnesota Medical School research team received a 5-year, $10 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to discover new ways that animals fight virus infections. This has the potential to be translated into novel therapies against emerging viruses in humans.

15-Jul-2026

At-home, lab-quality HIV tests awarded $1.3 million for development at UMass Amherst

University of Massachusetts Amherst
Grant and Award Announcement

AMHERST, Mass. — Chang Liu, associate professor in the Riccio College of Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, wants people to have access to at-home HIV tests sensitive enough for early diagnosis comparable to—or exceeding—lab standards. A new two-year, $1.3 million award from the National Institutes of Health will help him advance his proof-of-concept work toward commercialization.

15-Jul-2026

Virtual tumor predict response to liver cancer immunotherapy

Johns Hopkins Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Using computational tools, researchers from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have developed a method to predict which patients with a primary liver cancer called hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) would most benefit from combination treatment using immunotherapy and a targeted therapy that blocks the growth signals that the tumor depends on. The work, supported in part by the National Institutes of Health, was published online July 14 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Funder: Department of Defense-MEDCOM, Maryland Cancer Moonshot Research Grant, Maryland Cigarette Restitution Fund

15-Jul-2026

Brain’s immune cells put the brakes on out-of-control circuits in mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease

Trinity College Dublin
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at Trinity College Dublin have discovered that microglia – the main immune cells of the brain – play a critical role in maintaining the stability of neuronal networks in Alzheimer’s disease. Crucially, this suggests treatments that indiscriminately suppress these cells could be counterproductive.

Microglia, by driving brain inflammation, are generally considered to accelerate Alzheimer’s disease. But the study, published in leading neurology journal Brain, found that reducing the number and activity of these cells unexpectedly worsened abnormal electrical activity in the brain and increased seizure-like events.

Journal: Brain
Funder: Research Ireland, John Scott Studentship, Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship

15-Jul-2026

Stimulating a nerve in the ear may alleviate lung inflammation in mice

Cell Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Neuroimmunology, the study of interactions between the nervous and immune systems, is a rapidly growing field enabling new approaches for monitoring and treating inflammatory diseases. In a study publishing in the Cell Press journal Immunity on July 15, scientists showed that in mice, stimulating a nerve in the external ear may help to ease inflammation in the lungs. Based on these findings, the researchers are designing a clinical trial to test a novel device for treating asthma.

Journal: Immunity
Funder: Allen Discovery Center program, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation