Honors and Grants

Angela Caliendo, Medicine, received the Career Achiever award in the 2025 Health Care Heroes Awards Program from Providence Business News.

Bess Frost, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry (MCB), the Rainwater Charitable Foundation has awarded the 2025 Rainwater Prize for Innovative Early-Career Scientist to Bess Frost, who leads the Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research, a joint research center of the Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Institute for Brain Science and the Division of Biology and Medicine. The prize comes with $200,000 from the foundation, one of the largest independent funders of neurodegenerative research.

Ariana M. Albanese, Psychiatry and Human Behavior, received $92,938 for “The VA Evidence, Policy and Implementation Center (EPIC)_I” from the VA Bedford Healthcare System.

Alan A. Ardito, graduate student, received $60,000 for “PIESP2 permeabilizes blood-brain barriers: Insights into cerebral malaria” from the PhRMA Foundation. 

Jeffrey A. Bailey, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, received $30,000 for “Surveillance of P. falciparum Drug and Diagnostic Resistance in Refugee Populations,” a subaward through the Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.        

Leslie A. Brick, Psychiatry and Human Behavior, received $130,585 for “Development of attentional biases for affective cues in infants of mothers with depression,” a subaward through Binghamton University from the National Institute of Mental Health.  

Vivian G. Cheung, Molecular and Cell Biology and Biochemistry, received $47,850 for “Determining the role of RNA abasic sites in gene regulation” from the National Institute of Environmental Health Science.  

Phyllis A. Dennery, Pediatrics, received $37,500 for “Understanding ontogeny and mechanisms regulating developmental senescence and its impact on lung structure,” a subaward through the Ocean State Research Institute from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.         

Wafik S. El-Deiry, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, received $833,333 for “Evaluation of single agency efficacy, dose schedule optimization, differentiation, mechanism of action and biomarkers for imipridone small molecules in preclinical models of cancer” from Chimerix, Inc.

Justin R. Fallon, Neuroscience, received $75,000 for “Characterization of murine MuSK splice-modifying ASOs,” a subaward through Bolden Therapeutics from the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation.

Hannah E. Frank, Psychiatry and Human Behavior, received $37,301 for “Implementing Low-Threshold Hepatitis C Treatment in a Jail Setting,” a subaward through Rhode Island Hospital from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.           

Bess Frost, MCB, received $180,000 for “3TC: Development of new assays for target engagement” from The University of Texas MD Anderson. She also received $135,000 for “Investigating TREX1 as a modifier of tau neurotoxicity” and $144,609 for “Nuclear architecture and transposable element activation as a therapeutic target in human Alzheimer's disease and associated tauopathies” from The University of Texas MD Anderson.   

Rich N. Jones, Psychiatry and Human Behavior, received $110,795 for “Research Network for the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP): Years 6-10,” a subaward through the University of Michigan from the National Institute on Aging.

Stephanie R. Jones, Neuroscience, received $16,353 for “Paradoxical Sensory Responses: A Clue Towards Understanding Biotypes in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders,” a subaward through Boston Children's Hospital from the National Institute of Health.      

Jonathan D. Kurtis, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, received $3,498,478 for “Identifying the targets of protective immunity to severe falciparum malaria 2024-2029” from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.         

Anne CC Lee, Pediatrics, received $20,080 for “Low Birthweight and Preterm Infant Feeding Trial and Supportive Care Package (LIFTUP),” a subaward through Harvard University from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She also received $52,000 for the Vulnerable Newborn Network Collaborative, a subaward through Johns Hopkins University - Bloomberg School of Public Health from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She also received $29,578 for “Predictive Modeling and Geospatial Mapping to Identify Vulnerable Women and Adolescents in the Setting of Conflict, Climate change and Covid-19 (3Cs) and $103,837 for “The ENAT ("Mother") Study: Enhancing Nutrition and Antenatal infection Treatment for Maternal and Child Health” from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.   

Judy S. Liu, Luckson Omoaregba, and Judy Kimberly received $628,980 for “Research and Clinical Experiences in Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Neurosciences (R-CEIN)” from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Dr. Deus Cielo, Dr Matthew Anderson (Former Brown neurosurgeon resident now attending) and Dr. Tina Burton who were instrumental in the development of the program from inception, clinical preceptors, and mentors for program participants.        

Sendurai Mani, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, received $16,545 for “The Role of MELK in Stromal Reorganization of Aggressive Breast Cancers,” a subaward through the University of Texas MD Anderson from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command. 

Nicola Neretti, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry, received $279,772 for “Multi-Scale Analysis of 4D Nucleome Structure and Function by Comprehensive Multimodal Data Integration - continuation Year 5,” a subaward through Carnegie Mellon University from the National Human Genome Research Institute.       

Steven C. Rougas, Emergency Medicine/Medical Education, received $15,000 for “A community-engaged approach to building skills in caring for patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities” from the American Academy of Developmental Medicine & Dentistry.       

Unmesha Roy Paladhi, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Medical Science, received $26,749 for “Improving methods to measure milk volume intake among breastfeeding, small and vulnerable newborns” from the Thrasher Research Fund.

Katherine Siddle, Donna McGraw Weiss and Jason Weiss Assistant Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, received $170,000 for Northeast Pathogen Genomics Center of Excellence, a subaward from the Broad Institute through the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Robert W. Sobol, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, received $50,417 for “Investigating Mechanisms of Viral Impairment of Neurogenesis Using Recombinant AAV,” a subaward through the University of California, San Diego from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Martin S. Taylor, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, received $100,000 for “LINE-1 as a Cancer Biomarker, Contributor to Carcinogenesis, and Target for Cancer Chemoprevention” from Stand Up to Cancer.

Gemma T. Wallace, Postdoctoral Fellow in Psychiatry and Human Behavior, received $49,902 for “Noninvasive Continuous Measurement of Biochemical Markers for Suicide in a High-Risk Clinical Sample” from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.