Fisher Center Discovery Program
To develop excellence in clinical research regarding environmental infectious pathogens, the Center has created the Fisher Center Discovery Program (FCDP). Goals of the FCDP include:
- Funding of grants for clinical research related to environmental infectious diseases
- Provision of resources for studies that lack traditional funding mechanisms
- Promotion of cross-disciplinary collaborative research
- Provision of mentoring opportunities for early career investigators
We award a maximum of $60,000 to individual Johns Hopkins researchers during a single annual grant cycle. Notifications about the grants opportunity are distributed by email via individual schools of the Johns Hopkins University and pertinent faculty list serves. All full-time faculty members of the Johns Hopkins University, especially junior faculty, are encouraged to apply. For questions concerning the grants program, please email fishercenter@jhmi.edu or call 443-287-4800.
These Discovery Program grants are made possible by the generous support of Sherrilyn Fisher.
Congratulations to the 2023 Fisher Center Discovery Program grant awardees!
2023 Fisher Center Discovery Program Grant Cycle
The FCDP will continue its focus on environmental infectious diseases. Basic laboratory research proposals will not be reviewed. Laboratory-based research will only be considered if it related directly to clinical or translational research.
We are pleased to offer support for Environmental Infectious Diseases Grants. These grants are offered university-wide. We encourage cross-discipline and cross-school collaborative research, and the Center primarily wishes to support junior faculty investigators. Any full-time faculty member from Johns Hopkins University (JHU), including the Schools of Medicine, Public Health, Nursing, Engineering, Business, Arts & Sciences, and Applied Physics Lab, may apply and act as PI.
If you have questions about whether an environmental infectious diseases proposal would be appropriate for the Fisher Center Discovery Program, please submit a Letter of Intent.
Timeline
Applicants are strongly encouraged to review the FCDP Application Guidelines 2023 before completion of the proposal and application.
August 29, 2022: Letter of Intent submission deadline
September 19, 2022: Full application submission deadline
January 31, 2023: Award notice
To Apply
- On or before 11:59pm September 19, 2022 submit all documents listed below via email to fishercenter@jhmi.edu.
- Save all documents as individual documents. Do not combine documents.
- The complete application package is composed of the following:
-FCDP Application Form 2023, provided below
-Protocol: abstract; background; objectives; methods; timeline; proposal benefits; endnotes
-Biosketch, Curriculum Vitae, or résumé of 1) The PI, 2) Co-investigators, 3) Staff receiving salary support; saved as individual files
-Letter of support from the Faculty preceptor for applicants who are not JHU faculty
-Letters of support from collaborators and research partners (optional, but encouraged); saved as individual files
-Budget; use template provided below
-Written justification of salary requests exceeding 50% of the monetary award, if necessary
-Written justification of laboratory supplies, equipment, and service requests exceeding 50% of the monetary award, if necessary
2023 Document Library
FCDP Request for Application 2023
FCDP Application Guidelines 2023
FCDP Frequently Asked Questions 2023
FCDP Grants Letter of Intent 2023
FCDP Application 2023
FCDP Budget Template 2023
FCDP Awardees
Principal Investigators were Johns Hopkins University faculty at the time of award. Co-investigators are not listed.
| Year | Principal Investigator | Project Title |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Maxim Rosario, D.Phil., PhD, MSc, MB BCh BAO | Optimizing the Selection of Donors for Adoptive Cell Therapy for Environment Fungal Infections |
| 2023 | Kimia Ghobadi, PhD James C. Fackler, MD | Creation of a comprehensive microbiogram, visualizing the microbe prevalences in real-time at the neighborhood level |
| 2022 | Monica Mugnier, PhD | Defining the immune mechanisms mediating congenital transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi |
| 2022 | Carsten Prasse, PhD | Antiviral drugs as previously unrecognized contributors to antibiotic resistance |
| 2022 | Santosh Dhakal, DVM, PhD | Antibody dynamics as the biomarkers of COVID-19 outcomes among hospitalized patients |
| 2022 | Mark Ranek, PhD | Targeting the confluence of obesity and COVID-19 |
| 2022 | Sam Das, PhD | Fully automated at-home COVID-19 test |
| 2021 | Netz Arroyo, PhD | Point-of-need platform for population-scale monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies |
| 2021 | Challice Bonifant, MD PhD | H84T-BanLec CAR-NK Cells as Treatment for SARS-CoV-2 Infection |
| 2021 | Karen Carroll, MD | Next Generation Sequencing for Pathogen Identification in Lower Respiratory Infections |
| 2021 | Meghan Frost Davis, DVM, MPH PhD | Immunologic markers associated with environmental exposure to enterotoxin-producing Staphylococcus aureus |
| 2021 | Maged Mohamed Harraz, MBBCh, MSc, PhD | Autophagic degradation of ACE2 as a Therapeutic Target in Covid-19 |
| 2021 | Nitipong “Nate” Permapalung, MD, MPH | Optimizing Diagnostics for Environmentally Acquired Fungal Pneumonia Complicating COVID-19 |
| 2021 | Matthew Robinson, MD | A comprehensive suite of web tools to predict COVID-19 trajectory |
| 2021 | Maxim Rosario, D.Phil., MB BCH BAO, MSc PhD | Adoptive NK cell Therapy for Acquired Fungal Infection |
| 2020 | Keira Cohen, MD | Early bactericidal activity of standard drugs used to treat Mycobacterium avium complex: a pilot study |
| 2020 | Gyanu Lamichhane, PhD | Developing antibiotic regimen to treat M. abscessus disease based on whole genome mining |
| 2020 | Michael Melia, MD | Beta-d-glucan and galactomannan curriculum |
| 2020 | Heba Mostafa, MD, PhD | Genomic Surveillance of Enteroviruses' Polymorphic Events that Correlate with Disease Severity and Neuro-virulence |
| 2020 | David Sullivan, MD | Murine Babesia Combination Chemotherapy |
| 2020 | Sean Zhang, MD, PhD | POC.auris: A 15-minute point-of-care detection of multi-drug resistant Candida auris |
| 2018 | Anthony K. L. Leung, PhD | Understanding how virus virulence is regulated by the ADP-ribosylhydrolase activity of the macrodomain - a potential drug target |
| 2018 | Kimberly M. Davis, PhD | The role of amoebae in enhancing the virulence of environmental human pathogens |
| 2018 | Brian Garibaldi, MD | Environmental transmission and traceability of aerosolized bio-stimulants in a clinical biocontainment unit |
| 2017 | Keeve Nachman, PhD | Building a baseline for assessing the human health impact of a landmark legislative intervention on antibiotic use in industrial poultry production |
| 2017 | Sabra L. Klein, PhD | Identification of early detection biomarkers and candidate therapeutics for congenital Zika virus infection |
| 2017 | Evan Bloch, MBChB, MD, MS | African BAOBAB (Babesia Observational Antibody) Study |
| 2017 | Aaron Milstone, MD | Impact of Heterogeneous Resistance Mechanisms on Hospital Transmission of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) |
| 2016 | Petros Karakousis, MD | Identifying molecular targets for preventing multidrug tolerance in Mycobacterium avium infection |
| 2016 | Diane Griffin, MD, PhD | The role of nsP3 in neurovirulence of chikungunya virus |
| 2016 | Patricia Simner, MSc, PhD | Molecular Epidemiology of Carbapenem Resistant Gram-Negative Organisms (CROs) at Johns Hopkins Hospital: Do Patients Infected with CROs Contaminate the Hospital Room Environment? |
| 2016 | Brian Schwartz, MD, MS | High-density poultry operations and associated infectious disease risks |
| 2015 | Kieren Marr, MD | Diagnostics for latent histoplasmosis |
| 2015 | Trish Perl, MD At UT SW since 2016. | The Home Environment: Infections among Patients Discharged Home with Venous Catheters |
| 2015 | Margaret Kosek, MD. At UVA since 2019. | Salivary diagnostics for pathogens of clinical significance in childhood environmental enteropathy |
| 2014 | Pranita Tamma, MD, MHS | An evidence-based screening approach to identify children at high risk for harboring multi-drug resistant Gram-negative organisms in the PICU |
| 2014 | Elizabeth Matsui, MD, MHS At UT Austin since 2018. | Home Environmental Exposure to Staphylococcal Bacteria and Asthma Exacerbation |
| 2014 | Christine Marie George, PhD | Identifying Environmental Transmission Routes for Shigellosis in Rural Settings using Pulsed-field Gel Electrophoresis |
| 2014 | Mark Soloski, PhD | Immune Events in Human Lyme Disease |
| 2014 | Nicole Parrish, PhD | Characterization of β-lactam Resistance in Enterobacteriaceae Isolated from the Chesapeake Bay and Upper Watershed |
| 2014 | Priya Duggal, PhD, MPH | Host Genetic Susceptibility to Cryptosporidia Infection |
| 2013 | Aaron Milstone, MD, MHS | Development and Clinical Evaluation of Laboratory Methods to Identify Reduced Antiseptic Susceptibility in Organisms Causing Healthcare Associated Infections |
| 2013 | Megan Reller, MD, MPH At Duke since 2016. | Detection of Unrecognized Tick-borne Febrile illness in the Upper Midwest and Northeast United States |
| 2013 | Trish Perl, MD At UT SW since 2016. | Clostridium difficile: Impact of colonization versus transmission on development of infection |
| 2013 | Cynthia Sears, MD | Does Disruption of Host Microbiota Modify Colorectal Cancer Risk? |
| 2013 | Christopher Heaney, PhD | Evolutionary dynamics of multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MDRSA), a zoonotic pathogen of clinical significance, among industrial food animal production workers |