Columbia, Md. – September 29, 2026 -- The Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission has awarded more than $4.8 million through the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF) in the first funding cycle of fiscal year 2027, backing 15 investigators across the state's regenerative medicine sector.
Applications for MSCRF funding continue to exceed available resources
Requested funding significantly outstripped the capital available for this cycle, according to the Commission, reflecting both the depth of Maryland's research base and a rising number of technologies advancing past early discovery into validation, clinical development and manufacturing—stages that require substantially more capital.
Awards target 15 investigators studying conditions from Parkinson's to leukemia
Funded research spans blindness, Huntington disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, acute myeloid leukemia, cardiomyopathy, cardiac arrhythmias, muscular dystrophy, osteoarthritis, viral infections, and additional neurological, psychiatric and developmental disorders.
Launch awards totaling $3.08 million go to nine faculty researchers
Recipients include Drs. Leonardo Parra-Rivas, Saima Riazuddin, Christopher Ward and Mary Kay Lobo from the University of Maryland–Baltimore; Dr. Taeyoung Hwang from the Lieber Institute for Brain Development; and Drs. Anthony Leung, Hyeoncheol Park, Yang Ding and Hungoo Lee from Johns Hopkins University.
Commercialization award of $399,575 backs SereNeuro Therapeutics
SereNeuro Therapeutics, Inc., led by Dr. Tea Soon Park, received the sole Commercialization award to develop new human stem cell-based products in Maryland.
Validation funding of $1.35 million supports five Johns Hopkins and UMB faculty
Drs. Michal Zalzman and Alexandros Poulopoulos of the University of Maryland, Baltimore, along with Drs. Ludovic Zimmerlin, Elias Zambidis and Hee Cheol Cho of Johns Hopkins University, will use the funds to advance intellectual property requiring further validation.
MSCRF executive director says the fund is seeing a 'maturing pipeline'
Ruchika Nijhara, executive director of MSCRF, said the growth in applications reflects research progressing from laboratories toward new technologies, companies and manufacturing, noting that later stages are increasingly capital-intensive.
Fund has committed over $250 million since 2006 across 770 projects
Established under the Maryland Stem Cell Research Act of 2006, MSCRF now operates seven programs spanning discovery, postdoctoral training, validation, commercialization, clinical translation and manufacturing. The Commission expects to release Requests for Applications for the next funding cycle in late October or early November 2026.