University of Maryland Expands Landmark Research Program to Address Society's Most Pressing Challenges

The Grand Challenges Grants Program channels the university's research power across 40+ disciplines to advance solutions for the public good

COLLEGE PARK, Md., June 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of Maryland today announced the launch of 11 high-impact research projects funded by nearly $15 million over three years through its Grand Challenges Grants Program, the university's signature initiative to mobilize research across disciplines in service of society's most pressing needs.

The newly funded projects draw on the expertise of more than 40 disciplines from across campus, reflecting the university's commitment to tackling complex challenges — from expanding access to mental health services and heading off future pandemics to reducing educational disparities.

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 UMD's history, resulting in an additional $55 million in external funding.

"The inaugural program demonstrated extraordinary impact due to the breadth of expertise and collaborative spirit across our research enterprise," Senior Vice President and Provost Jennifer King Rice and Vice President for Research Patrick O'Shea said in an email to the campus community. "Through Grand Challenges 1.0, faculty developed innovative approaches to issues from climate resilience to food insecurity to educational equity and more, strengthening partnerships across disciplines, engaging students in new opportunities, and positioning the university for greater external funding, scholarly impact and public engagement."

The projects funded this year by Grand Challenges Grants 2.0 were selected from nearly 80 proposals from every college and school involving 400 researchers. The projects will also receive a 50% matching in-kind and/or cash investment from their college or unit.

"These projects exemplify the power of interdisciplinary collaboration to generate new ideas, accelerate discovery and address the grand challenges facing communities in Maryland, across the nation and around the world," Rice and O'Shea said. "We are inspired by the vision and innovation reflected in these projects, and grateful to everyone who submitted proposals."

Institutional Awards

IN-PLACE: Interdisciplinary Network for Place-Based Learning, Action and Community-Engaged EnvironMental Health connects time spent in nature with evidence-based mental health care through community partnerships, research and campus programming to simultaneously address the interconnected challenges of mental health, environmental health and health disparities.

Women's Health Interdisciplinary Research Collaborative advances translational research, workforce development and evidence-based policy to close critical knowledge gaps in women's health across the lifespan, leveraging AI and community-engaged approaches to drive real-world improvements for a historically underrepresented population in medical research.

Impact Awards

Predictive Biology Hub for Human and Environmental Health 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.

Sustainable and Ethical AI Infrastructure integrates engineering, economics and policy analysis to help Maryland and the nation balance the surging power and water demands of AI data centers with sustainability, affordability and national security goals, while identifying near- and long-term technological solutions for sustainable infrastructure.

Team Awards

Maryland Initiative Against Superbugs focuses on the discovery and engineering of bacteriophage: viruses that infect and kill bacteria. It will combine AI, computational modeling and experimental validation to identify and optimize bacteriophage, or phage, therapies capable of precisely targeting and killing drug-resistant superbugs.

Gut-Healing Smart Pill develops a smart, swallowable capsule that precisely targets and activates the gut's natural repair mechanisms to heal damaged intestinal tissue, aiming to reduce surgical interventions, improve patient outcomes and lower the enormous costs of inflammatory bowel disease care.

Belonging for Immigrants and Refugees with Disabilities partners with grassroots organizations to provide culturally tailored support services, workforce training and policy advocacy for immigrants and refugees with disabilities to reduce systemic barriers and improve access to education, healthcare and community resources.

AI for Precision Cancer Treatment integrates quantum computing and machine learning to design single-atom catalysts. The emerging approach for improving early cancer detection and treatment efficacy offers a faster, more cost-effective path to safer therapies that minimize damage to healthy tissue.

The Air We Share: A Public Health Revolution for the 21st Century aims to radically improve indoor air safety by advancing the science of airborne infection transmission, demonstrating interventions in homes and healthcare settings, and building the research infrastructure and next-generation leadership needed to make safe indoor air a universal public health standard.

Land-Sea Exchange Network for Salinity: An Early Warning System for Detecting and Managing Salinity Risks tracks salt levels from land to coastal waters and will develop an early warning system to help policymakers and communities identify, manage and reduce the environmental and economic impacts of saltwater intrusion and road salt pollution.

Sustainable Precision Aquaculture Network for Shellfish aims to transform oyster farming into a precision, data-driven industry that addresses global food security, restores water quality and revitalizes coastal economies. It will leverage robotics, AI, big data and Internet of Things technologies to modernize shellfish aquaculture in the Chesapeake Bay.

About the University of Maryland

The University of Maryland (UMD) is the state's flagship university driven by a community of more than 50,000 fearless Terrapins. As a leading research university and top 20 public institution, UMD is proud to be part of the Association of American Universities. Dedicated to excellence and impact for the public good, the university is propelled by a $1.4 billion joint research enterprise. UMD is the nation's first Do Good campus, and is consistently ranked for its innovation, research and top-tier academic programs. Located in the National Capital Region, the university offers an unparalleled student experience with federal internship opportunities, hundreds of academic programs and study abroad options, and top-ranked living-learning programs. Spurred by a culture of innovation and creativity, UMD's faculty are global leaders in their fields and include Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners and members of the national academies. For more information about the University of Maryland, College Park, visit umd.edu.

SOURCE University of Maryland