The Foundation is seeking highly innovative and groundbreaking medical research proposals from top tier institutions in both basic biological and applied research that will have the greatest impact on scientific knowledge and human health. Proposals should be distinctive and novel in their approaches, question the prevailing paradigm, and lead to advancement of knowledge in the field.
A highly qualified scientific advisory committee will review all proposals. Applications are highly competitive. Priority is given to organizations with whom the Foundation has had a long-standing relationship, preferably in Texas. Requests from organizations without prior funding are rarely approved.
In June 2022, the Board added an initial screening step for organizations that have not received a medical research study award in the past eight years. These institutions should submit the Medical Research Study Pre-Request and NOT the full application. The Board will then decide if they would like to receive a full application during the following grant cycle. Such a full application would be considered along with all other applications received during that cycle and should meet the guidelines below. The Medical Research Study Pre-Request will be available online only during the spring and fall grant cycles . Full applications by institutions that have not received a medical research study award in the past eight years will NOT be considered unless the Board approved the application during the initial Pre-Request screening step.
All applications and pre-requests must be approved by the University Provost or the Vice President of Research, and should be submitted through the office of sponsored research or like office that provides institutional approval for the request. Studies selected through an internal competition are preferred. Applications submitted by an individual researcher will NOT be considered.
Medical research institutions may submit one application each grant cycle, regardless if they have an open grant, and regardless of the number of affiliated entities within the institution. The medical research study application has a format similar to that of NIH. There is a separate application called Medical Research-Other that should be used for medical research-related requests other than medical research studies. This application is restricted and requires an access code.
Please contact Foundation staff at margretb@alexventures.com or call Margret at 210-316-8398 before you set up a new account in the online system, begin a Medical Research Study Pre-Request, if you have any questions, if you are unsure which application to use or whether you are eligible to apply, or to obtain the access code.
Please review the grant guidelines and the PDF documents below to be sure to submit a complete application:
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2024 Medical Research Awards
| Organization Name | Amount |
|---|---|
| Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX A. Maresso – Phage Therapy Induced Vaccination Against Pandemic Drug-Resistant Bacteria – 3 Years S. Gunter – A Citizen Science Approach to Collect Ticks as Proof-of-Concept – 2 Years |
$1,536,475 $499,557 |
| J. David Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA L. Shipman – Engineering Approaches to Phage Therapy – 3 Years |
$803,403 |
| Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD T. Inoue – Shattering the Paradigm of Translation Regulation for Health and Diseases – 3 Years |
$997,957 |
| Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston, MA J. Arboleda-Velasquez – Antibody Targeting APOE Interactions for Alsheimer’s – 2 Years |
$1,200,000 |
| Rice University, Houston, TX H. Xiao – Overcoming the Blood-Brain Barrier in Effective Treatments for Brain Metastasis – 3 Years |
$1,500,000 |
| Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA K. Bussard – Reducing Osteolytic Bone Destruction in Bone Metastatic Breast Cancer – 3 Years |
$1,246,824 |
| University of California, San Francisco, CA D. Fujimori – A Chemical Biology Approach to Stimulate Antitumor Immunity – 3 Years |
$1,500,000 |
| University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA S. Berger – Epigenetic Dysfunction Drives Alzheimer’s Disease – 3 Years |
$1,050,000 |
| University of Texas at Austin, TX A. Ellington – Microbial Delivery of mRNA Vaccines and Therapeutics – 2 Years |
$484,642 |
| Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN B. Park – Overcoming Immune Exclusion in Microsatellite Stable Colon Cancer – 3 Years |
$1,000,000 |
| $11,818,858 |
2023 Medical Research Awards
| Organization Name | Amount |
|---|---|
| Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX S. E. Crawford – Using Novel Tools to Achieve a Hepatitis B Virus Functional Cures – 3 Years S. Gunter – A citizen science approach to collect adequate ticks as proof-of-concept – 1 Year |
$1,182,523 $197,036 |
| Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA M. Moses – A dual targeted theranostic approach to the treatment of pancreatic cancer – 3 Years |
$1,500,000 |
| Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA K. Cheung – Interrogating intercellular signaling in triple-negative breast cancer – 3 Years |
$1,000,000 |
| Texas A&M Foundation, College Station, TX J. Hyde – Early Lyme Disease Diagnostic to Detect Viable B. burgdorferi – 3 Years |
$782,899 |
| Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA A. Snook – Universal Cell Therapy for Cancer – 3 Years |
$1,329,030 |
| University of California, San Francisco, CA B. Javid – A generalized strategy for bacterial antivirulence therapy – 3 Years |
$1,299,259 |
| University of Texas at Austin, TX D. Ghosh – mRNA delivery of intrabodies against the intracellular targets of cancer – 3 Years |
$759,000 |
| University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, The, Houston, TX J. Hu – Tackling cancer therapy-induced central nervous system deficits – 3 Years |
$1,944,130 |
| University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, McAllen, TX Luminary Scholars Program – 4 Years |
$1,000,000 |
| UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX D. Greenberg – Antisense Antibiotics for Drug-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa – 3 Years J. Herz – Restoring Endolysosomal pH Homeostasis to Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease – 3 Years |
$1,500,000 $1,500,000 |
| Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN B. Park – Blocking the evolution of drug resistance in cancer – 3 Years |
$250,000 |
| $14,243,877 |
2022 Medical Research Awards
| Organization Name | Amount |
|---|---|
| Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA J. Lee – Disrupting ERAP activity to advance immunotherapy in prostate cancer – 3 Years |
$750,000 |
| Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD S. Watanabe – A potential novel bioactive molecule in neurodegeneration – 1 Year |
$332,718 |
| Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA B. Kimball – Classification of Febrile Disease via Detection of Urinary or Saliva Volatiles – 1 Year |
$439,028 |
| Rice University, Houston, TX J. Chappell – Smart RNA antibiotics: trojan horse drugs selective for pathogenic microbes – 3 Years |
$1,500,000 |
| Stanford University, Stanford, CA C. Curtis – Measuring the repeatability of clonal evolution and defining its contingencies – 3 Years |
$1,500,000 |
| University of California, San Francisco, CA K. Shokat – A chemical-genetic approach to elucidate healthspan regulation – 3 Years J. Bondy-Denomy – Factors that antagonize bacteriophage infection in a human pathogen – 3 Years |
$1,487,701 $1,081,838 |
| University of Texas at Austin D. Taylor – Structure-based design of next-generation versatile, high-fidelity Cas9 variants – 3 Years |
$397,449 |
| University of Texas Health San Antonio D. Halff – Transplantation Matching Decisions: Surgeon-AI Collaborative Platform – 3 Years |
$400,000 |
| $7,888,734 |
2021 Medical Research Awards
| Organization Name | Amount |
|---|---|
| Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX A. Maresso – Designer Medicines for Evolving Pathogens – 3 Years P. Hotez – Chagas Disease Vaccine Combining RNA and Protein Technologies – 1 Year |
$996,678 $674,504 |
| Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA L. Zon – Strategies for Bone Marrow Inflammation in Clonal Hematopoiesis and Leukemia – 3 Years |
$1,500,000 |
| Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston, MA J. Arboleda-Velasquez – Antibody Targeting APOE Interactions with Glycosaminoglycans – 3 Years |
$1,200,000 |
| Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY G. Diehl – Developmental Regulation of Microbiota Specific Inflammatory T Cells – 3 Years |
$1,499,940 |
| Rice University, Houston, TX G. Bao – A Generalizable Platform for In Vivo Genome Editing – 3 Years |
$900,000 |
| Stanford University, Stanford, CA M. Wernig – Towards Next Generation Brain Cell Therapies- 3 Years |
$1,200,000 |
| The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX Pei-Yong Shi – Development of an Engineered Zika Virus for Glioblastoma Therapy – 2 Years |
$1,000,000 |
| The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, McAllen, TX Obstetrics & Gynecology Residency Program in the Mid-Rio Grande Valley – 3 Years |
$3,000,000 |
| Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN Pietenpol and Cortez – Defining a New Pathway to Treat MYC-Driven Cancers – 3 Years |
$1,500,000 |
| $13,471,122 |
2020 Medical Research Awards
| Organization Name | Amount |
|---|---|
| Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX P. Hotez – Advancing an RBD-based Vaccine Against COVID-19 – 1 Year |
$765,278 |
| Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA A. Hsieh – Protein Synthesis Dynamics in Advanced Bladder Cancer – 3 Years |
$862,020 |
| Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY C. Rudin – Using new tools to deeply interrogate drivers of lung cancer metastasis – 3 Years |
$1,500,000 |
| Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA B. Kimball – Classification of Febrile Disease via Detection of Urinary or Saliva Volatiles – 2 Years |
$889,299 |
| Rice University, Houston, TX J. Miller – A throughput system to test antiviral compounds against virus-infected mosquitoes – 3 Years |
$1,500,000 |
| Stanford University, Stanford, CA H. Nakauchi – Redefining mammalian pluripotent stem cell states – 3 Years |
$950,000 |
| Texas Bomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX Recruitment of Virologist Dr. Martinez-Sobrido – 4 Years |
$1,000,000 |
| University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA S. Berger – Epigenetic Dysfunction Drives Alzheimer’s Disease – 3 Years |
$1,050,000 |
| University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX J. Hsieh – A Personalized Approach to Alzheimer’s Disease in Hispanic Families – 3 Years G. Perry – Amyloidß Protective Hypothesis: A Cure for Alzheimer’s Disease – 3 Years |
$1,200,000 $1,200,000 |
| University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, The, Houston, TX P. Sharma – Improving anti-tumor responses to immunotherapy using ARID1A + CXCL13 – 3 Years The Kleberg Innovator/Investigator Award – 3 Years |
$3,000,000 $750,000 |
| UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX E. Maher – Matching IDH Driver Status to Treatment Timing in Glioma – 1 Year |
$396,714 |
| $15,063,311 |
2019 Medical Research Awards
| Organization Name | Amount |
|---|---|
| Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA Dr. Preti – Effective Ovarian Cancer Screening Diagnostic |
$300,000 |
| Stanford University, Stanford, CA Dr. Weissman – Profiling Immune Responses to Lyme Disease and How They Impact Treatment Efficacy Dr. Monje – Targeting Ion Channel Physiology in Malignant Glioma Through Neurological Drug Repurposing |
$500,000 $900,000 |
| University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA Dr. Brinster – Altering the Genes of Farm Animals |
$549,474 |
| University of California, San Francisco, CA Dr. McManus – Evolving CRISPR Therapies |
$1,500,000 |
| University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX Dr. Shi – A Universal Vaccine Platform |
$590,000 |
| $4,339,474 |
2018 Medical Research Awards
| Organization Name | Amount |
|---|---|
| Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD Targeting Mitophagy as a New Strategy to Treat Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis |
$745,536 |
| Texas A&M Foundation, College Station, TX Innovative Technologies to Minimize the Risk for the Re-Emergence of Bovine Babesiosis in the U.S. (Includes Contingency Award for Years 2 and 3) |
$723,565 |
| University of California, San Francisco, CA Early Detection and Removal of High-Risk Pre-Cancer, Cancer and Metastatic Lesions Using Engineered Immune Cells |
$1,199,967 |
| University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA Epigenetic Dysfunction in Human Alzheimer’s Disease |
$1,050,000 |
| University of Texas, Austin, TX Improving the Efficiency and Specificity of Cas9 Enzymes |
$673,828 |
| $4,392,896 |
2017 Medical Research Awards
| Organization Name | Amount |
|---|---|
| Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX Impact of Microbiota Driven T Cell Selection on Inflammatory Disease |
$900,000 |
| Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA Infusion of Off the Shelf Ex Vivo Expanded Cryopreserved Progenitor Cells for Single Cord Blood Transplant in Patients with Hematologic Malignancies |
$500,000 |
| Houston Methodist Hospital Foundation, Houston, TX New Mechanisms and Strategies in Prevention of Transplant Rejection A New Biomimetic Approach in the Treatment of Cardiovascular Inflammation |
$600,000 $867,583 |
| Memorial Hermann Foundation, Houston, TX Plasma Exchange to Treat Alzheimer’s Disease |
$249,968 |
| Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY Mechanistic Analyses of Pancreatic Cancer Evolution |
$1,500,000 |
| Rice University, Houston, TX Design and Fabrication of Interpenetrating Vascular Networks in Lung Tissue Mimics |
$400,000 |
| Texas A&M Foundation, College Station, TX Transformative and Affordable Medical Technologies and Systems to Improve Diabetes Health |
$957,789 |
| Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX Network Systems Biology to Identify and Test Novel Multivalent mRNA Lipopolyplex Vaccines Against Chagas Disease |
$1,854,896 |
| Texas Heart Institute, Houston, TX Targeting the Cardiovascular Inflammatory Receptor to Enhance Stem Cell Transplantation in Cancer |
$473,872 |
| University of Houston, Houston, TX Gravin Signalosome: A Novel Therapeutic Drug Target for the Treatment of Heart Failure |
$475,000 |
| University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX A Personalized Approach to T Cell Receptor Re-Directed Adoptive Cell Transfer Therapy in Cancer |
$787,844 |
| University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX Accelerating Research in Brain Health |
$2,689,350 |
| University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX A Rapid Zika Diagnostic Assay for Patients Innovative Methods to Disrupt Acquisition and Transmission of Viruses by Mosquitoes and Ticks |
$200,000 $200,000 |
| UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX Matching IDH Driver Status toTreatment Timing in Glioma |
$1,190,445 |
| Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN Accelerating the Transition from Discovery to Clinical Implementation in Precision Medicine |
$1,000,000 |
| Washington University, St. Louis, MO Using Zika Virus to Treat Glioblastoma |
$588,513 |
| $15,435,260 |
