Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission Awards Over $4.8 Million

The Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission announced over $4.8 million in awards through the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF) during its first funding cycle for fiscal year 2027. The funding will support innovative stem cell and regenerative medicine research across the state.

The grants will go to 15 investigators from Maryland-based research institutions and companies. Their work spans a range of medical conditions and diseases, including blindness, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, acute myeloid leukemia, cardiomyopathy, cardiac arrhythmias, muscular dystrophy, and osteoarthritis.

The number of applications and the amount of funding requested for MSCRF have grown significantly, substantially exceeding available resources. This reflects the strength of Maryland's research community and the increasing interest in regenerative medicine. The growth also indicates that technologies are progressing beyond early discovery to validation, commercialization, and clinical development stages, which typically require substantially more capital.

"This funding cycle demonstrates just how much Maryland's regenerative medicine ecosystem has grown," said Rachel Brewster, Ph.D., chair of the Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission. "We continue to see highly competitive proposals from researchers and companies working on ideas at different stages of development. The strength of the applicant pool speaks to the scientific talent and innovation that Maryland has built over many years."

Since its establishment in 2006, MSCRF has supported 770 research and commercialization projects with over $250 million in funding. The fund aims to support promising discoveries' progression between traditional research and commercialization stages. New funding cycle requests for fiscal year 2027 are expected to be released in late October or early November 2026.