By Todd Taylor
The McKnight Brain Institute Accelerator Program has selected 23 projects for seed-funding awards supporting novel and impactful neuroscience and neuromedicine research.
“The projects chosen highlight the breadth and depth of research that MBI investigators are conducting across the University of Florida, and we’re proud to support these innovative projects,” said MBI Director Jennifer Bizon, Ph.D.
The MBI distributed the $1.1 million in awards to investigators across seven UF colleges, with support from UF Health; UF’s Office of Research; the Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease; the Center for Aging and Memory; and the Brain Injury, Rehabilitation and Neuroresilience Center.
A scientific review committee with faculty members from across the MBI community was led by Jose Abisambra, Ph.D., the MBI’s associate director for research programs. The grants are intended to spur the success of new extramural applications and foster collaborations throughout the neuroscience and neuromedicine community.
2025 MBI Accelerator Program Award recipients:

Using cryo-EM and AI-enabled analysis to reveal mechanisms underlying tau aggregation
Paramita Chakrabarty, Ph.D., and Tina Izard, Ph.D.
College of Medicine and Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute

Localized delivery of chondroitinase ABC via decellularized human peripheral nerve-based injectable hydrogels for spinal cord regeneration
Christine Schmidt, Ph.D., David Fuller, Ph.D., and Gregory Hudalla, Ph.D.
Colleges of Engineering and Public Health and Health Professions

Decoding thought into speech: MEG-driven speech synthesis for real-time communication
Abbas Babajani-Feremi, Ph.D., and James Wymer, M.D.
College of Medicine

Disrupting myosin-dependent tunneling nanotubes as a therapeutic to modulate tauopathy in Alzheimer’s disease
Jonathan Bird, Ph.D.
College of Medicine

High-frequency sensory flicker stimulation for enhancing behavior and brain function in aging and Alzheimer’s disease
Natalie Ebner, Ph.D., and Rachael Seidler, Ph.D.
Colleges of Liberal Arts & Sciences and Health and Human Performance

Leveraging novel miRNA-dendrimers to promote a type 1 interferon/NK cell response against malignant glioma
Matthew Sarkisian, Ph.D., Fan Zhang, Ph.D., and Jeff Harrison, Ph.D.
Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy

Effects of methylphenidate modulation of attention on neural responses to alcohol cues
Amanda Elton, Ph.D.
College of Medicine

A pilot study to evaluate AB-free kava as a botanical drug for the treatment of insomnia
Carol Mathews, M.D., Chengguo Xing, Ph.D., and Abhisheak Sharma, M.Pharm., Ph.D.
Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy

Animal models and pathophysiology of restless legs syndrome
Yuqing Li, Ph.D.
College of Medicine

In silico targeting of mRNA with small molecules: Drugging the undruggable
May Khanna, Ph.D.
College of Medicine

Rapid DNA displacement for wash-free high-plex RNA imaging in 3D tissues and single cell transcriptomics to resolve neural connectome in brain tissues
Fan Hong, Ph.D.
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Metabolic modulation of local field potential organization during aging and Alzheimer’s disease genetic risk
Andrew Maurer, Ph.D.
College of Medicine

Model simulations of upper airway, swallow, and breathing behaviors
Don Bolser, Ph.D., and John Hayes, Ph.D., M.S.
College of Veterinary Medicine

Central neural mechanisms of breathing dysfunction in a mouse model of synucleinopathies
Adrienn Varga, Ph.D.
College of Medicine

Targeting polymeric glycine-arginine with immunotherapy for Alzheimer’s disease
Lien Nguyen, Ph.D., and Benoit Giasson, Ph.D.
College of Medicine

Vestibular processing in children with SNHL
Stefanie Bodison, OTD, OTR/L
College of Public Health and Health Professions

Dopamine signaling of reward and punishment during risky decision making; effects of GLP-1 agonist administration
Barry Setlow, Ph.D.
College of Medicine

Astrocytic expression of pentraxin 3 impacts glial scar formation during cryptococcal meningoencephalitis
Luis Martinez, Ph.D., M.S., M.B.A., and Karina Alvina, Ph.D.
Colleges of Dentistry and Medicine

Targeting myeloid pfkfb3-driven glycolysis to improve ischemic stroke outcomes
Eduardo Candelario-Jalil, Ph.D.
College of Medicine

Computational inference of hippocampal field potentials from scalp-recorded EEG: Cross-species validation and application to multimodal brain imaging
Andreas Keil, Ph.D., and Sara Burke, Ph.D.
Colleges of Liberal Arts & Sciences and Medicine

VIGAB-BIOSTAT: Neuronal injury panel sub-study
Carolina Maciel, M.D., MSCR
College of Medicine

Immune signaling mechanisms of tau pathogenesis following repetitive head impact exposure: A human-to-mouse translational pilot study
Breton Asken, Ph.D.
College of Public Health and Health Professions

A new drosophila platform to zooming in on alpha-synuclein proteinopathies
Diego Rincon-Limas, Ph.D.
College of Medicine