Funded Projects

Browse wide-ranging research at the frontiers of neuroscience supported by Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute grants, awards, and training fellowships.

Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
Neuroscience:Translate Award
2023
High-Fidelity Artificial Retina for Vision Restoration

This team will use their Neuroscience:Translate award to develop a large-scale bi-directional neural interface that will restore high-fidelity vision to people blinded by retinal degeneration.

Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
Neuroscience:Translate Award
2023
New Thrombectomy Device for Endovascular Neurosurgery

This team will use their Neuroscience:Translate award to develop an entirely new class of ischemic stroke treatment device that will lead to improved clot extraction to improve the success of endovascular thrombectomy.

Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
Neuroscience:Translate Award
2024
Small molecule ion channel modulator to treat acute episodes of peripheral vertigo

This team is developing a small molecule that targets a voltage-gated ion channel within the inner ear for the symptomatic relief of peripheral vertigo attacks. They will use their Neuroscience:Translate award to further develop this molecule to restore normal function and improve activities of daily living for patients experiencing peripheral vertigo.

Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
Neuroscience:Translate Award
2024
Creating a pharmacologic stroke recovery therapy

This team has identified a promising protein-based therapeutic to improve stroke recovery.  The team will use the Neuroscience:Translate award to identify key components of this protein to maximize its therapeutic potential for stroke treatments.

Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
Neuroscience:Translate Award
2024
Clinical translation of a new PET radiotracer for mapping innate immune activation in multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases

This team recently identified a selective biomarker of inflammation-promoting immune cells in the central nervous system. They will use their Neuroscience:Translate award to develop non-invasive molecular imaging strategies to distinguish between harmful (pro-inflammatory) and helpful (anti-inflammatory) immune cells in patients with Multiple sclerosis (MS).

Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
Neuroscience:Translate Award
2024
Assessing the feasibility of an autologous cell/gel therapy for spinal cord injury

This team has developed a new therapy for patients with spinal cord injury, involving injection into the spinal cord of patient-derived stem cells within an engineered protective gel. They will use their Neuroscience:Translate award to further test and develop this novel therapy in preparation for first-in-human clinical trials. 

Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
Neuroscience:Translate Award
2024
Targeting mitochondria in glioblastoma

This team recently discovered that a small molecule they had originally developed to treat Parkinson’s disease can also reduce the volume of glioblastoma tumors – the most common form of aggressive brain tumor — by targeting the mitochondrial protein Miro1. They will use their Neuroscience:Translate award to study the mechanisms of the compound’s anti-tumor action and prepare to apply for investigational-new-drug status to move this discovery toward the clinic.

Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
Neuroscience:Translate Award
2019
Multi-modal deep learning for automated seizure localization

Developing an automated seizure detection and localization system based on deep neural networks, EEG data, and real-time video with the goal to dramatically increase neurologist diagnostic capabilities while improving quality of care.

Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
Neuroscience:Translate Award
2020
Targeting DNA repair for neuroinflammation in stroke
Acute brain inflammation after stroke and head trauma causes adverse health outcomes affecting millions of patients each year in the U.S., and current treatments are insufficient. This project will test a promising new therapy to reduce inflammation by targeting the enzyme OGG1, a potentially important controller of acute inflammatory responses. This project is jointly supported by the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute and SPARK.
Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
Neuroscience:Translate Award
2020
The wearable ENG: A dizzy attack event monitor
Recurrent dizziness attacks are a debilitating condition for 10% of the population during their lifetime, and can lead to a complete inability to function, and to multiple hospital admissions and investigations chasing many potential diagnoses. This project aims to address the unmet need for means of tracking patients' specific symptoms, so that correct treatments can be identified that will improve patients' function and quality of life.
Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
Neuroscience:Translate Award
2020
PTS glove passive tactile stimulation for stroke rehab - Renewal

This team is developing wearable stimulation devices to improve limb function after stroke. The technology includes a tactile stimulation method, and the wireless, lightweight, and low-cost wearable computing devices to apply this stimulation.

Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
Neuroscience:Translate Award
2020
CPStim: Optimized non-invasive brain stimulation for chronic pain
In light of the dual public health crises of chronic pain and opioids, there is an urgent need to develop non-addictive alternative therapies for chronic pain. This project's goal is to develop a new protocol for transcranial magnetic stimulation — a non-invasive method of neuromodulation — that is optimized for chronic pain treatment.
Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
Neuroscience:Translate Award
2020
Deep learning for automated seizure localization
Current automated seizure detection software is slow, inaccurate and rarely precise enough for clinicians to rely upon. This project aims to use cutting-edge AI methods to develop a powerful new algorithm that will enable better seizure diagnosis and treatment plan formation.
Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
Neuroscience:Translate Award
2021
The wearable ENG: a dizzy attack event monitor, Dizzy DX - Renewal
Recurrent dizziness attacks are a debilitating condition for 10% of the population during their lifetime, and can lead to a complete inability to function, and to multiple hospital admissions and investigations chasing many potential diagnoses. This project aims to address the unmet need for means of tracking patients' specific symptoms, so that correct treatments can be identified that will improve patients' function and quality of life.
Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
Neuroscience:Translate Award
2021
Optimization of the African killifish platform for rapid drug screening for aggregate based neurodegenerative diseases
There are currently no available drugs for neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease. Using the power of a new vertebrate aging model, the African killifish, this team is investigating age-dependent protein aggregation at a systems level and identifying aggregating proteins in the aging brain. There is huge potential to optimize the killifish platform for phenotypic screening of drug libraries, notably those targeted at protein aggregation, which is central to neurodegenerative diseases.
Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
Neuroscience:Translate Award
2021
Rapid and automated educational assessment through the web browser
This proposal seeks to translate new technology developed in the Brain Development & Education Lab into an automated reading ability assessment tool that would be widely distributed to schools, clinics and research labs through a sustainable non-profit model.
Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
Neuroscience:Translate Award
2021
Remote reliable measurements of movement using a Bluetooth enabled engineered keyboard solve an unmet need in neurological diseases

This team is developing a device that will enable accurate diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease via telemedicine. They initially introduced the technology of Quantitative DigitoGraphy (QDG) using a repetitive alternating finger tapping (RAFT) task on a musical instrument digital interface (MIDI) keyboard and will use Neuroscience: Translate funding for the next stage of device development.

Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
Neuroscience:Translate Award
2021
Extracochlear neurostimulation - Auricle

Sensorineural hearing loss is an increasingly prevalent condition that causes disability to over a third of US adults aged over 65. We are developing a breakthrough device to restore high-frequency hearing that preserves residual hearing through a reversible and minimally invasive approach.