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NIDDK - National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

This study aims to develop new methods for detecting pre-cancerous dysplasia on colonoscopy and histology in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). IBD is associated with a higher incidence of colorectal cancer compared to the general population. However, IBD dysplasia is more difficult to detect on colonoscopy because lesions are flat, irregular in shape, and coincide with inflammation. In efforts to combat visualization problems, most gastroenterologists continue to perform random mucosal biopsy for increased sensitivity of dysplasia detection on colonoscopy. Accessory measures to help enhance dysplasia detection including high- definition endoscopy, dye chromoendoscopy, and narrow band imaging require extensive expertise, increase procedure duration, and have not been definitively shown to improve dysplasia detection rates. In addition to difficulty detecting dysplasia on colonoscopy, pathologists face similar ambiguity when evaluating dozens of biopsies provided from every colonoscopy. Beyond reviewer fatigue, pathologists are challenged to separate inflammation from dysplasia and the grade of severity, typically requiring referral to experts at high volume centers for second opinion review. Machine learning and computer vision methods are well suited to address clinician limitations in detecting visual features of IBD-related colonic dysplasia. Our multi-disciplinary team’s prior work developing methods to improve endoscopic disease activity assessments and quantify histologic imaging using machine learning will be adapted and applied to dysplasia detection in this proposed project. We will pursue three aims to achieve our goal of determining whether computer vision models can match or exceed the diagnostic ability of experts for detecting dysplasia on colonoscopy and histology. Aim 1 will build computer vision models trained to infer histologic ground truth using endoscopic imaging for detecting the presence of dysplasia on standard colonoscopy video from multiple centers. Methods will incorporate both still image classifier pipelines and new generative diffusion-based model architectures for full video analysis. Aim 2 will evaluate the performance of both experts and new FDA-approved AI assistant tools in colonoscopy for detecting dysplasia on colonoscopy, comparing results to best performing video-based dysplasia models. Finally, Aim 3 will apply computer vision quantitative histology to predict the presence of dysplasia on routine colonic biopsy, leveraging state-of-the-art histologic image segmentation methods for both enhanced pathologist annotation and modeling. Optimized dysplasia model performance will be tested and piloted in a real-world digital pathology workflow to evaluate the feasibility and performance of automated dysplasia detection in clinical practice. We expect these advancements will transform IBD dysplasia assessment by eliminating the need for cumbersome mucosal interrogation methods, improving accuracy of dysplasia detection, personalizing dysplasia surveillance and management, and providing a deployable technologic solution to elevate the quality of IBD care rendered by less-experienced clinicians.

Utah Cultural Alliance Foundation

Utah Cultural Alliance Foundation is an active grantmaking foundation based in Salt Lake City, UT. Focus: arts. Contact the foundation directly for current funding opportunities.

Sanctuary Art Center

Utility boxes are a necessary part of the urban streetscape as the provide the essential controls to our trafic lights, however they are simply there for ?Utility? and to a passer by amount to nothing more than a large grey obstruction. This project aims to build community through the transformation of the Utility Boxes in the U District from ordinary obstructions into a community assets that contribute to both placemaking and wayfinding.

NIAID - National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Project Summary/Abstract For over 2 decades the University of Zimbabwe-University of California, San Francisco Clinical Trials Unit (UZ- UCSF CTU) has continuously conducted high quality Phase I-IV clinical trials, utilizing experienced teams of multidisciplinary, cross-trained investigators, and research staff across the multi-Network CTU. The CTU is a center of excellence in the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS and has contributed to the global understanding of HIV epidemiology and pathogenesis, policy, and standards of care. In the current funding cycle, the CTU enrolled over 6,700 participants in 48 clinical trials across all 5 NIH-funded Networks (ACTG, IMPAACT, HPTN, HVTN, MTN) at 7 Clinical Research Sites (CRSs), generating 138 scientific articles and informing Zimbabwe’s health policy. The CTU has innovated to overcome operational challenges occasioned by the political and economic environment in Zimbabwe. The CTU proposes to continue to develop its scientifically rigorous and well-managed CTU to support the scientific agendas of the 4 proposed Networks (ACTG, IMPAACT, HPTN, HVTN), train the next generation of research leaders in Zimbabwe, and contribute to the control and prevention of HIV and TB in Zimbabwe and globally, with 4 Specific Aims: Specific Aim 1. Lead robust contributions to the research agendas of the ACTG, IMPAACT, HPTN, HVTN Networks; a) Continue to advance evaluation of novel and durable systemic ARV-based therapeutic and preventive strategies for: (i) control of HIV replication in the absence of ART; (ii) control of communicable and non-communicable comorbidities; and (iii) prevention of HIV in Key Populations, including adolescent girls and young women, men who have sex with men, and female sex workers by evaluating novel PrEP drug delivery systems; b) Continue evaluation of novel preventative and therapeutic vaccine candidates and broadly neutralizing antibodies for HIV/TB control among children, adolescents, and adults; c) Implement integrated strategies to evaluate socio- behavioral, biomedical, and structural interventions for HIV prevention among high-risk Key Populations while optimizing treatment outcomes among children, adolescents, and adults living with HIV; d) Investigate new product acceptability, uptake, and adherence using mixed methods to assess the effectiveness of novel approaches, including Multi-Purpose Prevention Technologies; Specific Aim 2. Intensify community engagement at all stages of research and evolve Community Advisory Board membership to represent, mobilize, and empower Key Populations, in support of the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets; Specific Aim 3. Maintain and adapt our CTU’s efficient and sophisticated centralized research infrastructures across the CRSs and the Laboratory, Pharmacy, Community, Regulatory, Quality Management, Administration and Finance Departments to drive compliance and ensure efficient execution of trials; and Specific Aim 4. Fortify the CTU’s role as a local, regional, and global knowledge hub with investments in training and mentorship for the next generation of scientific and community-based leaders.

Vacaville Museum Foundation

Vacaville Museum Foundation is an active grantmaking foundation based in Vacaville, CA. Focus: arts. Contact the foundation directly for current funding opportunities.

NIMH - National Institute of Mental Health

SUMMARY Depression affects approximately 280 million people worldwide. Despite widespread access to antidepressant medications and psychotherapy, the prevalence of depression and, in turn, suicidality is increasing. In 2008, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), an effective non-pharmaceutical treatment that alleviates depression, even in cases otherwise deemed treatment-resistant. More recently, the FDA approved Stanford Neuromodulation Therapy (SNT), an advanced TMS protocol that fine-tunes the stimulation target using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). This protocol boosts TMS efficacy (~80% symptom remission) and speed (5 treatment days). However, SNT-type therapy requires large, expensive, difficult-to-operate equipment and highly specialized personnel, which severely limits its scalability, accessibility, and overall capability to yield meaningful reductions in the nationwide prevalence of depression and suicidality. Ampa Health has an overarching goal to democratize access to state-of-the-art depression treatment by developing a next-generation TMS system that eliminates the need for large equipment and highly skilled technicians, thereby making treatment dramatically less expensive and more scalable. The technology we are developing will make it possible for patients to receive highly effective SNT-type therapy in almost any setting. Our NextGenTM TMS system comprises three key innovations: (1) Precision TMS targeting based on neurocardiac response signals to replace fMRI-derived targeting; (2) neuronavigation using a camera + scalp cap system instead of cumbersome, hard-to-master, fMRI-based frameless stereotaxy; and (3) optimizing the stimulation pulse waveform to minimize power requirements, in turn minimizing the size and weight of the overall TMS device. Having demonstrated proof-of-concept across all three system elements in Phase 1-equivalent work, we propose Phase 2 work to optimize and validate the NextGen TMS system for commercialization. Specifically, we will: Validate our neurocardiac response markers against gold-standard fMRI target localization (Aim 1); validate the precision of our FoveaTM Coil + navigation cap system for coil placement against gold-standard frameless stereotaxy (Aim 2); and identify the optimal pulse width for maximum power efficiency (Aim 3). As evidence of the therapeutic potential for TMS to alleviate severe, treatment-resistant depression continues to accumulate, the clinical necessity of these advancements is difficult to overstate. Our portable, cost-efficient, easy-to-operate system promises to maximize access to highly effective depression treatment, including the potential for at-home TMS in the future.

NIAID - National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Secretory Immunoglobulin A (sIgA) is the dominant immunoglobulin (Ig) in human mucosae and their fluids and is critical in protecting these surfaces from infection [1, 2]. sIgA is most often comprised of dimeric IgA linked by joining (j) chain. This dimer is secreted by the B cell, with j-chain marking it for transport by polymeric Ig receptor (pIgR) on epithelial cells into mucosal fluids [3]. pIgR is cleaved as it transports, leaving a domain known as secretory component (SC) attached, creating sIgA [4, 5]. SC renders it highly resistant to degradation in harsh mucosal environments [6, 7]. Human milk Ig is ~90% sIgA [8-10]. B cells that produce human milk sIgA originate from the gut associated lymphoid tissue (GALT), via the entero-mammary pathway [5, 11-13]. This pathway is evident in humans in that mammary B cells display adhesion receptors similar to GALT B cells, and milk sIgA exhibits strong reactivity for enteric microbes [14-20]. Our work analyzing the milk antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 infection found robust sIgA is elicited that is exceptionally long-lasting, a critical finding that is likely representative of any mucosal infection where immunogens ultimately present in the GALT [21-23]. In contrast, after COVID-19 vaccination, the response is IgG-dominant with low or undetectable sIgA, all waning within 3-6 months. We have also shown that influenza-specific milk sIgA is poorly boosted after seasonal vaccination [24]. Certainly, intramuscular (IM) vaccines do not elicit significant milk sIgA [24, 25]. Intranasal live-attenuated influenza vaccine is not better than IM vaccine for eliciting milk sIgA or IgG [26]. There is a true need to design vaccines aimed to elicit potent, specific sIgA responses in milk to protect breastfed infants. We expect such vaccines would be best designed to target the GALT of a lactating woman. However, animal models for such targeted vaccine design do not exist. The entero-mammary pathway is not universal; for example, little evidence has been found for this pathway in sheep or cows, who’s milk contains mainly serum IgG [27]. Early studies in mice and pigs suggested IgA-secreting GALT B cells traffic to the mammary gland, and in these species, sIgA predominates in milk [27]. Mice are not a good model animal for our work, given the paucity of milk produced and, unlike humans, their milk IgG is actively transported from the infant gut into the systemic circulation during the neonatal period [6, 28]. Pigs are likely more ideal. As such, this exploratory project aims to verify that pigs are an appropriate pre-clinical model for the human entero- mammary pathway and therefore, our future vaccine work. Using state-of-the-art single cell RNA sequencing, we will determine if, compared to other immune compartments, the cellular adhesion marker profiles of GALT and mammary gland (and/or milk) B cells destined to produce/producing sIgA are most similar; and the expressed Ig of these B cells are also highly related. The overall goal of this foundational work is to use pigs as a model for the development of targeted vaccines for lactating women that elicit robust, long-lasting milk sIgA to protect the breastfed infant. This work is focused on the unique needs of lactating women.

Victoria Foundation

Victoria Foundation provides grants for community-building projects in Greater Victoria and surrounding regions including arts, education, environment, and social services.

Niagara Arts Council, Inc.

Video Regrant

View Ridge Community Council

The View Ridge Party in the Park is the neighborhood's community building event. The goal is to bring the neighborhood together with a shared experience. The event will take place on Sunday September 8th in View Ridge Park (the center of the neighborhood). Activities are designed to promote a sense of community and connection among residents. We provide activities that appeal to everyone and also to specific age groups. Participants includes various organizations that support the neighborhood promoting positive community relations (e.g. Seattle Public Library, Seattle Fire, Seattle Police, Seattle Humane, NE Seattle Together (NEST), View Ridge School PTA, City Council Member). Food donated by local businesses is also served by neighborhood volunteers. Musical performances, arts and crafts for kids, face painting, balloon making, and historical displays of the neighborhood are examples of our use of arts and culture to connect and celebrate community.

NIAID - National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

PROJECT SUMMARY Despite the remarkable success of antiretroviral therapy (ART) to control HIV-1 infection, viral reservoirs persist indefinitely under treatment. These remaining viral populations constitute the principal burden for an effective HIV-1 cure, as they lead to a rapid “rebound” in viremia when treatment fails or is discontinued. Viral reservoirs in ART treated individuals are constituted by latently infected long-lived immune cells. Additionally, the reservoir comprises populations that produce low levels of viremia even in presence of high levels of ART. The sources of this residual viremia might play a key role in the fast “viral rebound” often observed after therapy cessation. Different studies demonstrate that the reservoirs are rapidly established early after infection and distributed throughout the body in multiple anatomical sites. In addition to T-CD4+ cells, a growing number of studies suggest that other T-cells and myeloid cells such as macrophages and mast cells constitute potential active and/or inducible reservoirs too. This capacity to establish reservoirs in a wide variety of cellular targets and anatomical compartments is promoted by HIV-1 accessory and regulatory proteins and might lead to viral characteristics directly associated with the producer cell type. In this proposal, we aim to characterize viruses produced by different cell types and their corresponding integrated provirus using tissue “ex vivo” infections. Furthermore, we will study the sources and characteristics of the viral particles that comprise the residual viremia from various anatomical compartments using clinical samples from people living with HIV-1 under ART. We will use our newly developed pipeline that combines viral immuno-capture (v-IC) from multiple cell types, with proviral sequencing in the same cell types, long-read deep viral sequencing, and viral particle multi-omics. This new pipeline will be very relevant for HIV-1 cure studies to identify the sources of viremia during ART and to better analyze the viral reservoirs.

Yara Arts Group, Inc.

Virlana Tkacz and Wanda Phipps

NIH

Background: Virtual care, now a mainstay in the Veterans Health Administration (VA), facilitates access to critical clinical and social services for millions of Veterans. The term “virtual care” encompasses a suite of technologies that include VA’s video visit platform, the MyHealtheVet patient portal, mobile apps, remote monitoring devices and tools to collect patient-generated health data. Collectively, these technologies have potential to enhance Veteran care and improve the workflow and workload of VA clinical teams. Yet for many clinical scenarios, evidence regarding the effectiveness, quality, safety and cost implications of virtual care is still in early stages. Understanding factors associated with access to and engagement with virtual care are important for this to be an effective, equitable mode of care delivery within VA. Significance: The Virtual Care Consortium of Research (VC CORE) was established in 2020 to address pressing needs for virtual care evidence within VA. In close partnership with VA’s Office of Connected Care and Digital Health Office, the VC CORE has grown to a diverse network of >380 investigators, clinicians and staff. The VC CORE addresses VA Health Systems Research priority areas for 2026 and is responsive to national legislation pertaining to VA virtual care, including the Cleland-Dole Act of 2022. Foundational VC CORE accomplishments include an extensive portfolio review of VA virtual care projects, an online research and implementation resource library, establishment of a cyberseminar series and monthly newsletter, a State- of-the-Art conference to identify virtual care research priorities and facilitation of > 50 OCC-funded quality improvement and evaluation projects. Innovation and Impact: The VA has been an early innovator in virtual care, with routine use of video visit capabilities, remote patient monitoring platforms, a web-based patient portal, and other technologies for several decades. VC CORE innovations that support virtual care implementation and evaluation include development of a comprehensive database of VA virtual care research, creation of a novel program to support operations-funded virtual care evaluations, and contributions to two Congressionally-mandated reports. Specific Aims: In the proposed VC CORE renewal, we will pursue four Impact Goals (IGs): In IG1, we will strengthen the VC CORE network through targeted growth, enhanced collaboration and partnerships. In IG2, we will foster rapid, rigorous and innovative research and QI activities focused on virtual care. In IG3, we will support VA in its efforts to implement and disseminate virtual care across the enterprise. In IG4, we will generate and synthesize evidence to advance VA practice and policy. Methodology: In IG1, we will grow our network and build more connections between network members and clinical operations partners, support requests for subject matter expertise from Office of Research and Development (ORD) and other VA leaders and support the next generation of investigators through early- career development opportunities. In IG2, we will foster virtual care research by updating VC CORE’s portfolio review, working with existing ORD entities to develop and disseminate data measures relevant to virtual care research and establishing a Veteran Engagement Panel. In IG3, we will identify innovative programs through communication with the VC CORE network and support the dissemination of implementation resources using a SharePoint repository. In IG4, we will track requests from operational and ORD partners (e.g., literature or reporting requests), continue to orchestrate requests for applications for projects funded by OCC and other partners, and synthesize evidence about the value and impact of project findings. Next Steps/Implementation: The VC CORE has emerged as a critical supportive structure that facilitates high- impact virtual care research and evaluation activities within VA. Renewal of the VC CORE will help sustain these achievements and further enhance the impact of virtual care research to support VA as a learning health system.

New Museum of Contemporary Art

Visible Knowledge Program

Magnolia Chamber of Commerce

The Magnolia Chamber of Commerce is leading a community-based Visible Village Vitality effort. This effort capitalizes on the momentum Magnolia has experienced, and uses the findings from two years of Department of Neighborhoods funded outreach as a foundation for action. The Visible Village Vitality effort will install street flags and banners with the new brand Discover Magnolia, host three art walks, and implement an art in empty storefronts program.

Arts for Art, Inc.

Vision Festival 17

Brooklyn Art Incubator, Inc.

Artistic visioning by community residents of ways to improve local air quality, followed by construction of a community garden and other green infrastructure at Magnolia Tree Earth Center.

Brooklyn Art Incubator, Inc.

Artistic visioning by community residents of ways to improve local air quality, followed by construction of a community garden and other green infrastructure at Magnolia Tree Earth Center.

The Door - A Center of Alternatives Inc.

Visual / Graphic Arts and Music Instruction Programs for Young People

NYC Department of Cultural Affairs

Visual AIDS for the Arts, Inc.

NYC Department of Cultural Affairs

Visual Arts Resource and Research Center Relating to the Caribbean, Inc.

NIGMS - National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Health professions schools are recognizing the important role of visual arts experiences in healthcare education to improve clinical practice1 as it can provide insight into the human condition and suffering, and develop skills of observation, analysis, empathy, and self-reflection. The use of Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) to strengthen these essential skills was pioneered by Harvard Medical School in 2004.2 Research findings examining the outcomes of VTS methodology have demonstrated its effectiveness in improving visual diagnostic skills,3,4,5 promoting active listening and analytical thinking,6 broadening empathetic understanding of patient experiences,7 and improving critical thinking and problem solving.8,9 Since 2009 the Lowe Art Museum (LAM), at the University of Miami (UM), in partnership with the schools of medicine and nursing, has used VTS in its programs where students work in interprofessional (IP) groups participating in discussions about art. They have been shown to increase time spent analyzing clinical images and discerning clinically relevant observations.10 Since they are typically conducted in museum galleries access to this training is limited by proximity to museums. Furthermore, most programs offer one or two sessions and the opportunity to practice and develop expertise is limited. We are developing a Virtual Reality (VR) platform to expand access to training using the VTS methodology for students regardless of proximity to museum resources. VR provides immersive, interactive, highly focused learning experiences in safe environments, free from other distractions, and enables access to education from any geographic location. In addition, several studies have shown that learning retention is significantly higher in VR.23,24,25 Our hypothesis is that VTS discussions in VR will result in measurable increases in tolerance of ambiguity, communication skills, and readiness for interprofessional learning. We are developing a prototype VITaLS museum gallery in VR to test the efficacy and scaling potential of teaching VTS in VR. Over a 3 month period 45 students in 5 IP groups (each comprised of medical, nursing, and physical therapy students) will participate in 3 VTS sessions in our gallery. They will receive 3 pre- and post-test validated surveys: Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS), Tolerance for Ambiguity scale, and Communication Skills Assessment Scale and one survey about their experience of learning in VR. AIMS: Aim #1: to upgrade and customize our VR gallery and conduct the VR sessions; Aim #2: to survey students about their experience and analyze the results; Aim #3: to survey participants on their experience of learning in the VITaLS immersive virtual environment to ensure their perspective informs future development. By the end of Phase 1 the data obtained from the surveys will be analyzed to assess the viability of this training in VR. In Phase II we will expand our research to test our hypothesis by including schools that have never used VTS or VR and conduct qualitative analysis of all Phase 1 and Phase II data to inform the development of a scalable Minimum Viable Product. VITaLS can capitalize on the predicted exponential growth of the VR Healthcare Market to provide a unique solution for improving vital communications, empathy, critical thinking and visual diagnostic skills among IP groups of health professional students.

Vivace Music Foundation

Vivace Music Foundation is an active grantmaking foundation based in Seattle, WA. Focus: arts. Contact the foundation directly for current funding opportunities.

Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, Inc.

VLA Statewide Service Initiative