NTICe at BHI Pilot Grant Funding Program 2026: Grant Awards Announced
The Neurotechnology Innovation Center (NTICe) and Rutgers Brain Health Institute (BHI) are pleased to announce the winners of the 2026 Pilot Grant Funding Program. This program aims to support interdisciplinary and innovative research collaborations that advance the development and improvement of neurotechnological approaches for diagnosing, managing, and treating nervous system disorders and trauma. Each awarded project will receive $25,000 in direct costs for a one-year funding period. Here are the awardees:
Travis E. Baker, PhD
Associate Professor
Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience
Rutgers University-Newark
Faculty Member, Rutgers Brain Health Institute
Project Title:
Excitatory–Inhibitory Hotspot Mapping for Precision TMS Targeting: An EEG-Based Neurotechnology for Individualized Reward Circuit Modulation
In collaboration with the following co-PIs:
- Elisa A. Kallioniemi, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology
- Danielle Dick, Ph.D., Professor and Director, Rutgers Addiction Research Center, Department of Health Sciences, Rutgers University
- Avram J. Holmes, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Rutgers University
Bokyung Kim, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Rutgers University
Project Title:
Spatiotemporal EEG Biomarkers for Clinical Seizure Forecasting
In collaboration with the following co-PI:
Nancy Song, M.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, Rutgers University
Hai Sun, MD, PhD
Associate Professor, Assistant Director of Research, Assistant Residency Program Director, Department of Neurosurgery
Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs in the Department of Neurosurgery at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Interim Chief of Service at RWJMS
Faculty Member, Rutgers Brain Health Institute
Project Title:
Physics-Driven AI Models for Infraslow Activity Detection and Noninvasive Localization of the Epileptogenic Zone
In collaboration with the following co-PI:
Feng Liu, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Systems Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology
Jianyuan Zhang, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Rutgers University
Project Title:
BBB-penetrant Antioxidative Fullerenols as Future Therapeutics for Neuroinflammation
In collaboration with the following co-PI:
Brian Daniels, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University
The objective of the NTICe pilot grant program is to support innovative ideas and cutting-edge interdisciplinary research to advance the development of transformational neurotechnologies that can be translated from the bench to the bedside and applied in the clinic. The program is expected to draw together investigators across multiple disciplines and expertise, foster collaborations between Rutgers faculty and the scientific community in other institutions, and build a network of partnership between scientists, engineers, clinician-scientists, clinicians and industry.
The goal of the pilot grants is to facilitate the generation of preliminary data that will lead to comprehensive and multi-year extramural funding applications. Research areas of interest include, but are not limited to, neuromodulation, neuroprosthetics, neurorehabilitation/robotics, brain-computer interfaces, advanced brain imaging, nanomedicine, computational medicine, NeuroAI and AI in healthcare.
Funding Opportunities
Each month, BHI distributes a curated selection of federal (NIH) and non-federal (private and nonprofit) funding opportunities relevant to neuroscience, brain health, and mental health research.
