Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals fund six research teams through the 2026 Collaborative Science Pilot Awards

To advance collaborative discovery and support the next generation of research leaders, Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals (UH) have jointly awarded funding to six research teams through the 2026 Collaborative Science Pilot Awards. 

Each project received $50,000 for a year of funding. Since launching in 2023, the program has supported 14 research teams with a total investment of $700,000. 

This year's program places a special emphasis on pairing junior investigators with established researchers from Case Western Reserve and UH, fostering mentorship, scientific innovation and new opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration. By combining complementary expertise and perspectives, these partnerships help accelerate discovery while cultivating future leaders in academic medicine and biomedical research.

"Transformative scientific advances and meaningful improvements in patient care emerge from collaborative teams that bring together diverse expertise, perspectives and experience," said Stanton Gerson, dean and senior vice president for medical affairs at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, director of the National Center for Regenerative Medicine and the Asa and Patricia Shiverick–Jane Shiverick (Tripp) Professor of Hematological Oncology. "Programs such as the Collaborative Science Pilot Awards provide the foundation for discovery by supporting innovative ideas at their earliest stages, fostering partnerships across institutions and disciplines, and helping investigators generate the preliminary evidence needed to compete for larger research opportunities.”

"The Collaborative Science Pilot Awards are an investment not only in innovative science, but also in the people and partnerships that make scientific breakthroughs possible," said Daniel Simon, president of academic and external affairs and chief scientific officer at UH and the Ernie and Patti Novak Distinguished Chair in Healthcare Leadership. "By bringing together early-career investigators and established scientific leaders, these awards create an environment where new ideas can flourish, interdisciplinary collaborations can take root and promising discoveries can move more rapidly toward meaningful impact. Equally important, they help develop the next generation by providing emerging investigators with the mentorship, experience and collaborative networks needed to build successful, independent research careers."

After a rigorous, peer-reviewed, evaluation process the following projects were selected:

Electrical simulation to enhance neuromuscular integration for neurorestorative cell therapy. 

Team: Stanley Bazarek, (neurosurgery) and Andrew Shoffstall, (biomedical engineering) 

Nerve repair remains limited by slow spinal motor neuron (SMN) axon regeneration and the eventual, irreversible degeneration of the denervated target muscle. A current surgical approach is the transfer of an adjacent healthy nerve to reinnervate and preserve muscle integrity. 

This proposal introduces an alternative strategy: intra-nerve transplantation of stem cell-derived SMNs near the target muscle to provide an exogenous source of reinnervating axons without donor nerve sacrifice. Electrical stimulation will be investigated to accelerate and enhance SMN–muscle integration. The goal is to develop a novel, percutaneous cell therapy with transformative potential for functional recovery from peripheral nerve and spinal cord injury. 

Targeting GLS1 to eliminate therapy-induced senescent cells I endocrine therapy-resistant luminal A breast cancer. 

Team: Akihiro Yoshida, (dermatology) and Bill Schieman, (biochemistry) 

ER-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer is commonly treated with endocrine therapy and CDK4/6 inhibitors, but many patients eventually experience disease recurrence. One major challenge is the persistence of therapy-exposed residual cancer cells that survive in a senescent-like state.

The team has discovered that these cells rely on glutaminase 1 (GLS1) for survival and proposed to use the clinically relevant GLS1 inhibitor to selectively eliminate them. This project will test GLS1-directed senolysis in endocrine therapy–resistant breast cancer models, including both localized tumor and disseminated residual tumor cell settings. The resulting data will support future multi-PI grant applications and advance a translational strategy to prevent recurrence in endocrine-resistant breast cancer.

Microbiome-immune-radiation interactome as a determinant of urinary toxicity in prostate cancer.  

Team: Soumyajit Roy, (radiation oncology), Daniel Spratt, (radiation oncology) and Doug Brubaker, (global health, pathology and biomedical engineering)

Radiotherapy is a potentially curative treatment for localized prostate cancer; however, acute genitourinary toxicity remains common and can contribute to persistent urinary morbidity and reduced quality of life. The biological mechanisms underlying interpatient variability in urinary toxicity are poorly understood, limiting the ability to predict, prevent, or mitigate treatment-related side effects.

To address this gap, the team proposes a prospective pilot study of men undergoing curative-intent prostate radiotherapy to characterize treatment-associated changes in the urinary microbiome, microbial and host-derived metabolites, inflammatory cytokines, and urinary extracellular vesicle proteins. By integrating UH’s clinical expertise in radiation oncology with CWRU’s strengths in microbiome science, metabolomics, systems immunology, and computational biology, the project seeks to identify early biological signatures associated with urinary toxicity. The resulting preliminary data will provide a foundation for future studies aimed at risk stratification, toxicity prevention, personalized supportive care strategies, and competitive extramural funding applications

Exploring RGS2 as a key mediator of progesterone signaling to promote uterine quiescence during pregnancy. 

Team: Patrick Ose-Owusu, (physiology), Emily Hamburg-Shields, (OBGYN) and Sam Mesiano, (OBGYN

During pregnancy, the hormone progesterone plays a critical role in keeping the uterus relaxed and supporting healthy fetal development. Although labor is thought to begin when progesterone’s calming effect on the uterus is disrupted, scientists still do not fully understand the mechanisms that maintain uterine quiescence throughout pregnancy. Current approaches to preventing preterm labor, including progesterone therapy and cervical cerclage, have limited effectiveness, and most cases cannot be predicted before symptoms arise.

This research team will investigate a novel mechanism by which progesterone may maintain uterine quiescence. The study will focus on the role of a regulatory protein known as RGS2 in controlling uterine muscle responses to progesterone. By improving understanding of this pathway, the researchers hope to identify new biological targets for preventing preterm labor and ultimately develop more effective strategies to improve outcomes for mothers and babies.

Exploring mitochondrial dysfunction and neuroinflammation in the olfactory epithelium as an early trigger of Alzheimer’s disease. 

Team: Jennifer Villwock, (ENT), Ron Yu, (neuroscience), Ruben Stepanyan, (ENT)

This proposal investigates whether mitochondrial dysfunction in the olfactory epithelium (OE) and olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) is an early and previously underrecognized driver of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). Because olfactory dysfunction often precedes cognitive symptoms, researchers will use established Alzheimer's disease mouse models to compare markers of mitochondrial dysfunction and inflammation across the OE, OSNs, and olfactory bulb, using advanced imaging techniques including focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy with deep-learning–based analysis. The study will test whether pathological changes begin in peripheral olfactory tissues before spreading to the brain. Findings could inform future studies and identify new opportunities for disease-modifying therapies, including intranasal treatments targeting the OE and OSNs.

Multi-parametric magnetic resonance fingerprinting of lung nodules: correlation with computed tomography and diagnostic pathology.                                                                  
Team: Atallah Baydon, (radiology/oncology), Daniel Herzka, (radiology), Yong Chen, (radiology), Sree Tirumani, (radiology) and Pranshu Mohindra, (radiology/oncology) 

More than 1.57 million pulmonary nodules are detected annually in the United States. Current management strategies rely on serial computed tomography (CT) surveillance and invasive diagnostic procedures for tissue sampling, exposing patients to prolonged uncertainty, increased healthcare costs and procedure-related risks.

This project will pilot the use of magnetic resonance fingerprinting (MRF), a novel quantitative MRI technique pioneered at CWRU and UH), for lung imaging. Investigators will first develop and optimize an MRF framework tailored for pulmonary imaging, followed by extracting multiple quantitative tissue biomarkers to comprehensively characterize lung nodules. By correlating these imaging features with histopathologic findings, the study aims to accurately distinguish benign from malignant pulmonary nodules and improve noninvasive diagnostic decision-making.