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John G. Searle Innovator Awards - Past Awardees

The Searle Foundation has committed philanthropic funds to support investigator-initiated research. Applications are solicited that propose significant and innovative translational, clinical, basic science, behavioral, or population-based research. The intent of these pilot grants is to support well-designed projects that will allow development of preliminary data to enable the investigators to be competitive for future federal or private funding. Interdisciplinary proposals are of particular interest.

Year of AwardAwardeePilot Project Tile
2024Esther Lee, MD, MPH 
Assistant Professor 
Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology 
Rush University Medical Center
Mixed Methods Research for Retinopathy of Prematurity
2024Adrienn Markovics, MD, PhD 
Assistant Professor
Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Department of IM, Division of Rheumatology
RUSH Medical College
Targeting Periprosthetic Joint Infection via the Application of mRNA-encoded Lysostaphin
2023Adrienn Markovics, MD, PhD 
Assistant Professor
Department of Orthopedic Surgery
RUSH Medical College
The role of T cells and SHP-1 in a murine model of rheumatoid arthritis
2023Liudmila Romanova, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Neurological Sciences
RUSH Medical College
Arachnoid barrier in Alzheimer’s disease
2022Frank C. Ko, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology
RUSH Medical College
Examining periostin-integrin receptor signaling in intramembranous bone regeneration
2022Liudmila Romanova, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Neurological Sciences
RUSH Medical College
Macrophage mediated clearance of Aβ and tau at the CNS border in Alzheimer's disease