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Fisher Center Discovery Program (FCDP)

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.

YearPrincipal InvestigatorProject Title
2023Maxim Rosario, D.Phil., PhD, MSc, MB BCh BAOOptimizing the Selection of Donors for Adoptive Cell Therapy for Environment Fungal Infections
2023Kimia Ghobadi, PhD

James C. Fackler, MD
Creation of a comprehensive microbiogram, visualizing the microbe prevalences in real-time at the neighborhood level
2022Monica Mugnier, PhDDefining the immune mechanisms mediating congenital transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi
2022Carsten Prasse, PhDAntiviral drugs as previously unrecognized contributors to antibiotic resistance
2022Santosh Dhakal, DVM, PhDAntibody dynamics as the biomarkers of COVID-19 outcomes among hospitalized patients
2022Mark Ranek, PhDTargeting the confluence of obesity and COVID-19
2022Sam Das, PhDFully automated at-home COVID-19 test
2021Netz Arroyo, PhDPoint-of-need platform for population-scale monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies
2021Challice Bonifant, MD PhDH84T-BanLec CAR-NK Cells as Treatment for SARS-CoV-2 Infection
2021Karen Carroll, MD
Next Generation Sequencing for Pathogen Identification in Lower Respiratory Infections
2021Meghan Frost Davis, DVM, MPH PhDImmunologic markers associated with environmental exposure to enterotoxin-producing Staphylococcus aureus
2021Maged Mohamed Harraz, MBBCh, MSc, PhDAutophagic degradation of ACE2 as a Therapeutic Target in Covid-19
2021Nitipong “Nate” Permapalung, MD, MPHOptimizing Diagnostics for Environmentally Acquired Fungal Pneumonia Complicating COVID-19
2021Matthew Robinson, MDA comprehensive suite of web tools to predict COVID-19 trajectory
2021Maxim Rosario, D.Phil., MB BCH BAO, MSc PhDAdoptive NK cell Therapy for Acquired Fungal Infection
2020Keira Cohen, MDEarly bactericidal activity of standard drugs used to treat Mycobacterium avium complex: a pilot study
2020Gyanu Lamichhane, PhDDeveloping antibiotic regimen to treat M. abscessus disease based on whole genome mining
2020Michael Melia, MDBeta-d-glucan and galactomannan curriculum
2020Heba Mostafa, MD, PhDGenomic Surveillance of Enteroviruses' Polymorphic Events that Correlate with Disease Severity and Neuro-virulence
2020David Sullivan, MDMurine Babesia Combination Chemotherapy
2020Sean Zhang, MD, PhDPOC.auris: A 15-minute point-of-care detection of multi-drug resistant Candida auris
2018Anthony K. L. Leung, PhDUnderstanding how virus virulence is regulated by the ADP-ribosylhydrolase activity of the macrodomain - a potential drug target
2018Kimberly M. Davis, PhDThe role of amoebae in enhancing the virulence of environmental human pathogens
2018Brian Garibaldi, MDEnvironmental transmission and traceability of aerosolized bio-stimulants in a clinical biocontainment unit
2017Keeve Nachman, PhDBuilding a baseline for assessing the human health impact of a landmark legislative intervention on antibiotic use in industrial poultry production
2017Sabra L. Klein, PhDIdentification of early detection biomarkers and candidate therapeutics for congenital Zika virus infection
2017Evan Bloch, MBChB, MD, MSAfrican BAOBAB (Babesia Observational Antibody) Study
2017Aaron Milstone, MDImpact of Heterogeneous Resistance Mechanisms on Hospital Transmission of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE)
2016Petros Karakousis, MDIdentifying molecular targets for preventing multidrug tolerance in Mycobacterium avium infection
2016Diane Griffin, MD, PhDThe role of nsP3 in neurovirulence of chikungunya virus
2016Patricia Simner, MSc, PhDMolecular Epidemiology of Carbapenem Resistant Gram-Negative Organisms (CROs) at Johns Hopkins Hospital: Do Patients Infected with CROs Contaminate the Hospital Room Environment?
2016Brian Schwartz, MD, MSHigh-density poultry operations and associated infectious disease risks
2015Kieren Marr, MDDiagnostics for latent histoplasmosis
2015Trish Perl, MD At UT SW since 2016.The Home Environment: Infections among Patients Discharged Home with Venous Catheters
2015Margaret Kosek, MD. At UVA since 2019.Salivary diagnostics for pathogens of clinical significance in childhood environmental enteropathy
2014Pranita Tamma, MD, MHSAn evidence-based screening approach to identify children at high risk for harboring multi-drug resistant Gram-negative organisms in the PICU
2014Elizabeth Matsui, MD, MHS At UT Austin since 2018.Home Environmental Exposure to Staphylococcal Bacteria and Asthma Exacerbation
2014Christine Marie George, PhDIdentifying Environmental Transmission Routes for Shigellosis in Rural Settings using Pulsed-field Gel Electrophoresis
2014Mark Soloski, PhDImmune Events in Human Lyme Disease
2014Nicole Parrish, PhDCharacterization of β-lactam Resistance in Enterobacteriaceae Isolated from the Chesapeake Bay and Upper Watershed
2014Priya Duggal, PhD, MPHHost Genetic Susceptibility to Cryptosporidia Infection
2013Aaron Milstone, MD, MHSDevelopment and Clinical Evaluation of Laboratory Methods to Identify Reduced Antiseptic Susceptibility in Organisms Causing Healthcare Associated Infections
2013Megan Reller, MD, MPH At Duke since 2016.Detection of Unrecognized Tick-borne Febrile illness in the Upper Midwest and Northeast United States
2013Trish Perl, MD At UT SW since 2016.Clostridium difficile: Impact of colonization versus transmission on development of infection
2013Cynthia Sears, MDDoes Disruption of Host Microbiota Modify Colorectal Cancer Risk?
2013Christopher Heaney, PhDEvolutionary dynamics of multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MDRSA), a zoonotic pathogen of clinical significance, among industrial food animal production workers