← LeaderboardsInvestigatorsiAttributed = a PI's even-split share of each grant — a $1M grant with 2 PIs counts $500K each.
Texas A & M University System Health Science Center
$35,935,346
Total funding
49
Grants
Funding over time
peak $8.2M · FY2014–25$10M$7.5M$5M$2.5M$0
'14
'15
'16
'17
'18
'19
'20
'21
'22
'23
'24
'25
Funding mix
By agency
DOD$24,188,978 · 36
USDA$9,254,504 · 7
NASA$2,491,865 · 6
By mechanism
—$35,935,346 · 49
Investigators at Texas A & M University System Health Science Center
InvestigatorsiAttributed = a PI's even-split share of each grant — a $1M grant with 2 PIs counts $500K each.
Exposure= the full size of every grant they're on ($1M each).
Rising Stars
First grant in the last 5 yrs
Not enough data
Emerging Leaders
6–10 yrs in
Not enough data
All-Time
Most funded here, all years
Not enough data
Largest grants
SALUD PARA USTED Y SU FAMILIA [HEALTH FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY]: FAMILY-FOCUSED CHILDHOOD OBESITY PREVENTION$2,978,942
· FY2017 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
MELATONIN FOR REVERSING BRAIN DYSFUNCTION IN GULF WAR ILLNESS$1,781,890
· FY2017 · Department of the Army
SALMONELLA CAUSE AN ESTIMATED 1.4 MILLION CASES OF FOODBORNE DISEASE, RESULTING IN ~13,000 HOSPITALIZATIONS, AND >500 DEATHS ANNUALLY IN THE UNITED STATES. THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO TREATMENTS FOR UNCOMPLICATED SALMONELLA INFECTIONS, OR INTERVENTIONS TO BLOCK PERSISTENT FECAL SHEDDING OF THIS ORGANISM FROM LIVESTOCK. THE GOAL OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO UNDERSTAND HOW SALMONELLA, A COMMON AGENT OF BACTERIAL FOODBORNE DISEASE IN HUMANS, CAN SURVIVE AND GROW IN THE INTESTINE DURING INFECTION. OUR HYPOTHESIS IS THAT SALMONELLA ENCODES PROTEINS THAT ALLOW IT TO GROW IN THE INTESTINE IN OXYGEN-LIMITED CONDITIONS, AND WE DO NOT YET KNOW THE FUNCTIONS OF MANY OF THESE PROTEINS. WE HAVE DISCOVERED 16 GENES THAT APPEAR TO BE IMPORTANT FOR SALMONELLA GROWTH IN THE INTESTINE AND THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO IDENTIFY THE FUNCTIONS OF SEVERAL OF THE PRODUCTS OF THESE GENES. THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROJECT ARE TO (1) MEASURE THE SURVIVAL AND GROWTH OF STRAINS LACKING THESE GENES BOTH IN THE INTESTINE AND IN OXYGEN LIMITED CONDITIONS IN THE LABORATORY, (2) TO IDENTIFY WHICH OF THESE GENES PARTICIPATE IN VIRULENCE PATHWAYS THAT ARE ALREADY KNOWN, (3) TO IDENTIFY THE FUNCTIONS OF PRODUCTS OF SELECTED GENES, AND (4) TO MODEL THE STRUCTURE AND POTENTIAL SUBSTRATES OF SELECTED CANDIDATE GENE PRODUCTS. THIS KNOWLEDGE CAN BE USED IN THE FUTURE TO DEVELOP NEW VACCINES AND DRUGS TO PREVENT AND TREAT SALMONELLA INFECTIONS IN HUMANS AND LIVESTOCK.$1,647,845
· FY2017 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
NON-TYPHOIDAL SALMONELLA (NTS) ARE THE LEADING CAUSE OF BACTERIAL FOOD-BORNE GASTROENTERITIS IN HUMANS CAUSING HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS CASES IN HUMANS AND LIVESTOCK. THERE IS NO TREATMENT FOR UNCOMPLICATED GASTROINTESTINAL NTS INFECTIONS BECAUSE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE ANTIBIOTICS (A) DO NOT TO IMPROVE THE CLINICAL OUTCOME, (B) PROLONG THE DURATION OF FECAL SHEDDING, AND (C) CONTRIBUTE TO DEVELOPING ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE. HUMANS CAN ACQUIRE SALMONELLOSIS BY CONSUMING CONTAMINATED POULTRY OR POULTRY PRODUCTS. THE GOAL OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO DEVELOP POTENTIAL PRODUCTS TO INTERFERE WITH SALMONELLA COLONIZATION OF THE CHICK INTESTINE, AND THUS REDUCE TRANSMISSION OF SALMONELLA TO HUMANS. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT A PRODUCT OF THE NORMAL BACTERIAL MICROBIOTA OF THE CHICK (FORMATE), IS THE KEY MICROBIAL PRODUCT THAT ALLOWS SALMONELLA TO GAIN A FOOTHOLD IN THE CHICK INTESTINE AND ESTABLISH SUBCLINICAL COLONIZATION. TO INTERROGATE THIS HYPOTHESIS, WE WILL: (1) IDENTIFY THE SALMONELLA GENES NEEDED FOR FORMATE USE IN THE CHICK, (2) DEFINE HOW MUCH FORMATE IS PRESENT DURING MATURATION OF THE CHICK AND CORRELATE THIS WITH CHANGES IN THE COMPOSITION OF THE NORMAL MICROBIOTA PRESENT, AND (3) TEST COMMENSAL E. COLI "NISSLE" STRAINS THAT CAN NOT PRODUCE FORMATE FOR THEIR ABILITY TO LOWER SALMONELLA COLONIZATION IN CHICKS. SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THIS PROJECT WILL LEAD TO A DETAILED UNDERSTANDING OF THE FACTORS THAT PROMOTE SUBCLINICAL COLONIZATION OF CHICKS WITH SALMONELLA, AND LEAD TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A RATIONALLY DESIGNED PROBIOTIC TO REDUCE SALMONELLA COLONIZATION IN CHICKS.$1,625,000
· FY2018 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
TRANSPOSON AND TARGETED MUTATIONAL ANALYSIS OF COXIELLA BURNETII TO IDENTIFY VIRULENCE DETERMINANTS OF ACUTE AND CHRONIC DISEASE$1,242,580
· FY2014 · Department of Defense
PSILOCYBIN THERAPY FOR ENHANCING BRAIN FUNCTION IN GULF WAR ILLNESS$1,231,307
· FY2025 · Defense Health Agency
SPACEFLIGHT-ASSOCIATED NEURO-OCULAR SYNDROME (SANS) IS REPORTED TO AFFECT ~40% OF ASTRONAUTS COMPLETING LONG-DURATION SPACEFLIGHTS (AS OF MAY 2017) AND HAS BEEN CHARACTERIZED AS THE DEVELOPMENT OF ONE OR MORE FINDINGS: OPTIC DISC EDEMA HYPEROPIC SHIFTS GLOBE FLATTENING COTTON-WOOL SPOTS OR CHOROIDAL FOLDS. THE LEADING HYPOTHESIS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF OCULAR CHANGES IS THAT PROLONGED EXPOSURE TO THE HEADWARD FLUID SHIFT THAT OCCURS IN WEIGHTLESSNESS IS THE PRIMARY INSTIGATING FACTOR AND ADDITIONAL FACTORS SUCH AS GENETIC DISPOSITION AMBIENT CO2 ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION OR ON-ORBIT EXERCISE COUNTERMEASURES MAY AUGMENT OR DIMINISH THE DEVELOPMENT OF OCULAR SYMPTOMS. HOWEVER THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF SANS REMAINS UNCLEAR. EVIDENCE FOR THE CONTRIBUTION OF INTRACRANIAL PRESSURE ALONE IN SANS IS CONTROVERSIAL. THEREFORE STUDIES OF OCULAR VASCULAR HYDRODYNAMICS ARE REQUIRED TO CLARIFY IF CHRONIC MILD ELEVATIONS OF OCULAR PRESSURE VARIABLES COMPROMISE OCULAR STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION. SINCE ALL BLOOD AND LYMPH VESSELS ARE COMPLIANT FLUID-FILLED STRUCTURES WHOSE PRESSURES ARE STRONGLY INFLUENCED BY GRAVITY WE PROPOSE TO FOCUS OUR STUDIES ON THE POTENTIAL CHANGES DIRECTLY TO THE OCULAR VASCULATURE CAUSED BY MICROGRAVITY. PERFUSION OF THE OPTIC NERVE AND INNER RETINA FOR SUFFICIENT DELIVERY OF OXYGEN AND NUTRIENTS IS DEPENDENT ON RETINAL BLOOD FLOW. THE PRESSURE GRADIENT FOR DRIVING BLOOD FLOW THROUGH THE INNER RETINA BEGINS WITH THE ARTERIAL PRESSURE IN THE FEED ARTERY WHICH IS THE CENTRAL RETINAL ARTERY IN HUMANS. CHANGES IN RETINAL BLOOD FLOW OR PRESSURE MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THE FORMATION OF COTTON WOOL SPOTS AND OPTIC DISC EDEMA. OPTIC DISC EDEMA CHOROIDAL FOLDS AND OPTIC NERVE THICKENING MAY ALSO RESULT FROM OCULAR VENOUS CONGESTION AND/OR ELEVATED VENOUS COMPLIANCE DISRUPTION OF THE BLOOD-RETINAL BARRIER AND/OR REDUCTION IN OCULAR LYMPH FLOW. THERE HAS BEEN NO SYSTEMATIC ANALYSIS OF THE OCULAR VASCULAR CHANGES IN MICROGRAVITY. WE HAVE ASSEMBLED A TEAM OF EXPERTS IN SANS AND ALL 3 MAIN VASCULAR TYPES (ARTERIES VEINS AND LYMPHATICS) TO ADDRESS THIS INFORMATION GAP. THUS THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS APPLICATION IS TO DETERMINE WHETHER MICROGRAVITY ALTERS THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE OCULAR VASCULATURE AT THE LEVEL OF FEED ARTERIES VENOUS EXCHANGE AND CAPACITANCE VESSELS AND LYMPH VESSELS. THIS PROVIDES A NOVEL COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION OF THE OCULAR VASCULAR ELEMENTS. THE CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS OF THIS PROPOSAL IS THAT MICROGRAVITY/SPACEFLIGHT-INDUCED CHANGES IN THE STRUCTURE/FUNCTION OF THE OCULAR VASCULATURE LEAD TO ALTERATIONS IN OCULAR HYDRODYNAMICS AND PROMOTE SYMPTOMS OF SANS. WE WILL ACCOMPLISH THIS OBJECTIVE USING IN VIVO MEASURES OF VASCULAR FUNCTION (RETINAL ARTERY BLOOD FLOW RETINAL ARTERIOLE AND VENULAR DIAMETER MEASUREMENTS AND RETINAL VENULAR PERMEABILITY MEASURES) AND IN VITRO STUDIES OF FRESHLY ISOLATED VASCULAR STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION (VESSEL/TISSUE HISTOLOGY ARTERIAL VASOMOTOR REGULATION VENOUS COMPLIANCE MEASURES AND LYMPHATIC TRANSPORT CHARACTERISTICS). THESE STUDIES WILL BE CONDUCTED IN MICE FLOWN IN SPACE AND THE CORRESPONDING GROUND CONTROLS TO ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING SPECIFIC AIMS: 1: EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF MICROGRAVITY ON OCULAR ARTERY STRUCTURE/FUNCTION. 2: EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF MICROGRAVITY ON OCULAR VEIN STRUCTURE/FUNCTION. 3: EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF MICROGRAVITY ON OCULAR LYMPHATIC STRUCTURE/FUNCTION. INFORMATION FROM THESE NOVEL STUDIES WILL PROVIDE THE FIRST COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTS OF MICROGRAVITY ON OCULAR VASCULAR FUNCTION WHERE THE PREDOMINANT CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH SANS IN ASTRONAUTS OCCUR. IT WILL ALSO HELP DEFINE THE ROLES THESE MAY PLAY IN THE ETIOLOGY OF SANS AND COULD LEAD TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF COUNTERMEASURES FOR SANS.$1,069,185
· FY2020 · National Aeronautics and Space Administration
TREATING GULF WAR ILLNESS VIA MODULATION OF LEUKOTRIENE SIGNALING...NEW AWARD, NEED 4 DIGIT POST OFFICE CODE, NOT FOUND IN SEARCH OR SAMS$1,038,651
· FY2019 · Defense Health Agency
TRACKING NEUROINFLAMMATION IN GWI FROM BRAIN-DERIVED EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES IN THE BLOOD$1,010,267
· FY2020 · Defense Health Agency
ENDOCANNABINOID MECHANISMS OF POST-TRAUMATIC EPILEPSY.$1,001,000
· FY2025 · Defense Health Agency
CIRCADIAN DYSREGULATION AS A RISK FACTOR FOR AGE-RELATED COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT$999,784
· FY2025 · Defense Health Agency
SALUD PARA USTED Y SU FAMILIA *HEALTH FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY*: FAMILY-FOCUSED CHILDHOOD OBESITY PREVENTION THROUGH A SYSTEMS-ORIENTED MULTI$999,054
· FY2016 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
THE BURDEN OF SARS-COV-2 DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTS MARGINALIZED POPULATIONS, SUCH AS LIMITED-RESOURCE FAMILIES WHO DO NOT SPEAK ENGLISH, INDIVIDUALS ENGAGED IN MIGRANT AND SEASONAL FARM WORK (MSFW), INDIVIDUALS LIVING IN POVERTY, AND INDIVIDUALS WHO RESIDE IN IMPOVERISHED COMMUNITIES ALONG THE U.S.-MEXICO BORDER AND THROUGHOUT THE U.S. THEY EXPERIENCE UNACCEPTABLY HIGH RATES OF POVERTY AND FINANCIAL STRESS, CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITIONS, FOOD AND HOUSING INSECURITY, AND LOW HEALTH LITERACY. THE GOAL OF SÉ EL HÉROE (BE THE HERO) IS TO ADDRESS THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACED BY PROMOTORES/COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS (P/CHWS), MSFWS, AND SMALL FOOD SERVICE PROVIDERS (FSPS) IN MITIGATING INFECTION AND TRANSMISSION OF SARS-COV-2 THROUGH MUCH-NEEDED EXPERIENCE-BASED EDUCATION AND SKILL BUILDING, INNOVATIVE OUTREACH METHODS, AND MULTI-PLATFORM APPROACH TO EMPOWER P/CHWS TO WORK WITH MSFWS AND FSPS. OUR OBJECTIVES WILL BE TO: 1) DEVELOP, DELIVER, EVALUATE, AND DISSEMINATE BROADLY A CURRICULUM, P/CHW: SÉ EL HÉROE (BE THE HERO), ALONG WITH TOOL KITS AND OTHER RESOURCES IN RESPONSE TO UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCES, CULTURAL TRADITIONS, FAMILY PRACTICES, AND OTHER SOCIO-CULTURAL FACTORS TO INCREASE KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES, SELF-EFFICACY, SKILLS, AND BEHAVIORS OF P/CHWS TO ENABLE THEM TO OFFER CULTURALLY AND SITUATIONALLY APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR-FOCUSED EDUCATION TO MITIGATE INFECTION AND TRANSMISSION OF SARS-COV-2 AMONG MSFW AND FSP; AND 2) DEVELOP, DELIVER, EVALUATE, AND DISSEMINATE TO MSFW AND MOBILE AND HOME-BASED FOOD PROVIDERS (MHFP) SÉ EL HÉROE CURRICULUM, TOOL KITS, AND RESOURCES TO EDUCATE AND TRAIN HIDALGO COUNTY, TX MSFW AND MHFV IN PREVENTING SPREAD OF SARS-COV-2 AND IN MITIGATING INFECTION AND TRANSMISSION OF SARS-COV-2. THE PROPOSED PROJECT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO REDUCE THE SPREAD OF SARS-COV-2 THROUGH MITIGATION TO PREVENT INFECTION AND TRANSMISSION OF SARS-COV-2 AMONG P/CHW, MSFW, FSP, AND MHFP, ESPECIALLY ALONG THE TEXAS BORDER WITH MEXICO, AND ULTIMATELY IN HISPANIC COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT THE U.S. ADDITIONAL LONG-RANGE IMPROVEMENTS INCLUDE TRAINING OF MORE GEOGRAPHICALLY DIVERSE P/CHWS, AND CHANGE IN THE WAY P/CHW EDUCATE AND SUPPORT MSFW, FSP, AND MHFP.$998,875
· FY2020 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
PROBING NEUROINFLAMMATION IN GWI VIA STUDIES ON GULF WAR VETERAN-DERIVED MICROGLIA$927,266
· FY2022 · Defense Health Agency
HUMAN IPSC-DERIVED GABA-ERGIC PRECURSOR THERAPY FOR CHRONIC EPILEPSY$908,423
· FY2014 · Department of Defense
SALUD PARA USTED Y SU FAMILIA *HEALTH FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY*:FAMILY-FOCUSED CHILDHOOD OBESITY PREVENTION$906,530
· FY2015 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
MONOSODIUM LUMINOL FOR IMPROVING BRAIN FUNCTION IN GULF WAR ILLNESS$872,357
· FY2014 · Department of Defense
TARGETING THE MIF/CD74 IMMUNE AXIS TO TREAT GWI ASTROCYTE, NEURONAL, AND COGNITIVE DYSFUNCTION$760,844
· FY2025 · Defense Health Agency
ROLE OF B CELLS AND ADAPTIVE IMMUNITY IN EXACERBATED ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AFTER TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY$756,359
· FY2022 · Defense Health Agency
CANNABIDIOL FOR IMPROVING BRAIN FUNCTION IN GULF WAR ILLNESS$754,665
· FY2020 · Defense Health Agency