Team Science Pilot Program Winners Announced

The inaugural Office of Team Science Pilot Program launched in November as a bold step toward fostering interdisciplinary collaboration at UTMB. Aligned with institutional priorities, the program focused on addressing global health challenges as part of UTMB’s vision to redefine its role in advancing global health. By uniting expertise across schools and institutes, the program empowered researchers to tackle complex health issues through innovative, team-driven approaches.

The response to the program was exceptional, with 19 proposals submitted in December from all five UTMB schools. These submissions reflected a remarkable diversity of topics, ranging from neuroscience and nutrition to infectious disease, aging, and women’s health. In January, a multidisciplinary review committee, selected six standout projects to receive funding. 

These projects include advancements in antimicrobial resistance diagnostics, AI-driven mobility assessments, the social science of vaccine implementation, burn- wound healing, community-engaged care for children with disabilities, and recurrent stroke bioassay development. With funding available through FY25, these teams are well-positioned to make significant contributions to health and science - globally.

Congratulations to the inaugural Team Science Pilot Program grant recipients.

"Simplified low-cost molecular tests for diagnosis of invasive bacterial infections in limited-resource clinical settings"
Main PI: Peter C. Melby, MD
Team members: Alex Castellanos, PhD; Natalie Williams-Bouyer, PhD; Tim Xue, PhD; Xiaoying Yu, PhD; Cesar Ugarte Gil, PhD; Josephat Tonui, PhD, MSc, BSc (SOM/Kabarak University, Kenya); Emmanuel Nyangau, MS, MLS(ASCP)cm

"Antibacterial effect of Photoactivated Molecular Nanomachines on burn wound infection"
Main PI: Amina El Ayadi, PhD
Team members: Tracy Toliver-Kinsky, PhD; Steven Wolf, MD; James Tour, PhD (Rice University); Alejandro Villasante-Tezanos, PhD

"Multidisciplinary Approach to Foundational Research for Lassa Virus Vaccine in Plateau State, Nigeria"
Main PI:  Caitlin Cotter, DVM
Team members: Junki Maruyama, PhD; Susan McLellan, MD, MPH

"Preliminary Research to Design a Testable Multilevel Framework for Community-engaged support of children with disabilities in rural Kenya"
Main PI: Laurie Farroni, DPT, PT, PCS
Team members: Michael Goodman, MDiv, MPH, DrPH; Lauren Raimer-Goodman, MD

"Using a thrombus profiling assay to assess the prothrombotic status of ischemic stroke patients"
Main PI: Yunfeng Chen, PhD
Team members: Hashem M. Shaltoni, MD

"Mobility Aging Clock: Identifying Kinematic Signatures Predictive of Healthy Aging"
Main PI: Bo Chen, PhD
Team members: Shih-Chiao Tseng, PhD