Grand Challenges Grants 2.0 Direct UMD Research to Societal Good
Professor Meredith Gore is part of a newly funded interdisciplinary research team that will develop predictive tools to address some of society’s most pressing health and environmental challenges.
Pressing societal needs like expanding access to mental health services, heading off pandemics and reducing educational disparities aren’t neatly divided among academic disciplines—and neither is the University of Maryland’s signature initiative to address them.
On Thursday, UMD announced the launch of 11 high-impact research projects representing more than 40 disciplines across campus, funded by nearly $15 million over three years through the Grand Challenges Grants Program.
It’s the next step in an ongoing commitment to channel the university’s research power into advancing solutions for the public good. In 2023, the first round of Grand Challenges Grants committed $30 million to 50 projects spanning every college and school—the largest investment of its kind in the university's history, resulting in an additional $55 million in external funding. ...
Impact Awards
Predictive Biology Hub for Human and Environmental Health
PI: Professor Joshua Weitz, Biology; Co-PIs: Professor and Chair Evan Economo, Entomology; Professor Meredith Gore, Geographical Sciences; Distinguished University Professor William Fagan, Biology; Assistant Professor Nikolas Francis, Biology; Professor Michelle Girvan, Physics; Associate Professor Philip Johnson, Biology; Associate Professor Haizhao Yang, Mathematics; Assistant Professor Nan Xu, Bioengineering.
This initiative develops new predictive tools to mitigate pandemics, improve human health outcomes, and sustain vital ecosystems in the face of emerging global threats across biological scales, from pathogens and ecosystems to brain networks and bioinspired design.
This article was written by Maryland Today staff and originally published in Maryland Today.
Published on Thu, 06/25/2026 - 15:00