Sponsor or institution
Clinical trials and research at Harvard University
As of November 12, 2026, Find a Trial lists 210 NIH-funded research projects at this institution, with $146.4 million in listed awards. Every study is explained in plain English. Data from ClinicalTrials.gov and NIH RePORTER, updated November 12, 2026.
- 210NIH research projects
NIH-funded research (newest 40 of 210)
Early-stage science funded by the US National Institutes of Health. Most of these projects don't enroll patients, but they show what is being worked on.
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Using biomaterials to boost T cell immunity against cancer
This study is exploring new ways to boost the immune system's T cells, which help fight cancer, by using special materials to create artificial cells that can better activate them, with the hope of developing improved treatments for cancer patients.
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Understanding how venom glands develop to reveal new medicines
A Corsortium at Harvard studies how venom glands form and work in different animals to uncover new ways to create and use powerful medicines for human health.
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Muscle Mass: a Key Missing Piece in How We Model Movement
This project studies how adding muscle mass to computer models changes predictions of movement, aiming to improve mobility for people of all ages.
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Synthetic circuit tools to precisely control human immune cells
Aims to design safe, programmable gene circuits that can steer human immune cells for better therapies.
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HPF-X: A fast, buffer-exchanging high-pressure freezing tool for capturing rapid cellular events
A new tool called HPF-X will let scientists freeze cells at precise moments after stimulation, so we can see rapid molecular changes in neuroscience and related fields.
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Pathways and factors to prevent early-onset colorectal tumors
This NIH grant would explore why colorectal cancer is rising in people under 50 and identify clues we can use to prevent it.
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Define how DNA damage leads to unexplained cancer mutations
A research project is exploring how DNA damage from everyday biology and the environment creates cancer-related mutation patterns, to better understand cancer causes.
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Subcellular clues to why some brain neurons get hit in ALS and FTD
This research looks at tiny cell parts in brain neurons to understand why certain neurons are more damaged in ALS and FTD, using mouse models and human-like brain cell systems.
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Controlling a tiny sugar tag on brain proteins linked to Alzheimer's
Researchers will add or remove a small sugar mark on specific brain proteins to try to protect brain cells and improve sleep problems tied to Alzheimer's disease.
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Trapping reactive intermediates to create new catalysts
Researchers at Harvard are studying how metal-ligand complexes can mimic natural enzymes to selectively modify unactivated carbon-hydrogen bonds, with potential to make better chemical catalysts.
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IL-12–releasing microparticles to boost immune attack on solid tumors
A science team at Harvard is testing a new way to deliver IL-12 directly into solid tumors to help immune T cells attack cancer more effectively, with the goal of fewer side effects than traditional systemic cytokine therapy.
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Neural Mitochondria and Gene Editing
Aims to understand how mitochondrial DNA mutations affect brain function and how gene editing can study or potentially fix them, focusing on people and models with mitochondrial-related brain issues.
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Dynamic nanoscale cellular imaging with time-resolved vitrification
A new tool called VERITAS will let scientists stimulate cells and then rapidly freeze them to see how tiny parts of the cell respond in real time.
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How muscle size affects muscle function during everyday movement
This work adds real muscle size into computer models to better predict how muscles produce force during daily activities for people with movement problems.
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How scheduling, monitoring, and automation in service jobs affect worker health over a lifetime
This project finds out how unpredictable schedules, workplace monitoring, and automation in service jobs affect the health and aging of service workers.
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Understanding how the gut microbiome influences energy use and metabolic health
A study from Harvard will explore how our gut microbes affect how we get and use energy from food and how lifestyle factors like diet and exercise change this in ways that could impact metabolic health.
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Adolescent Stress and Brain Development: How Life Events Shape Youth Mental Health
A study following teens to understand how everyday stressful events affect their emotions, thoughts, behavior, and brain signals over time.
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A Day in the Life of a Zebrafish: How Young Fish Navigate Home and Keep Balance
This NIH grant supports studies on how larval zebrafish use their senses and body signals to navigate their environment and maintain internal balance, with insights that could inform human neuroscience and behavior.
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Training and Outreach Core supports next‑gen scientists
A funding opportunity at Harvard University to run a Training and Outreach Core that uses larval zebrafish to teach and engage students in neuroscience and related fields.
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Engineering Core to advance brain science tools
A dedicated engineering team at Harvard will create custom hardware, software, and imaging setups to enable advanced zebrafish brain research.
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Electron Microscopy Core supporting mapping of neural circuits in zebrafish
A dedicated core uses advanced electron microscopy to map the connections in a zebrafish brain, helping scientists understand how neural circuits drive behavior.
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Data Core for Neuroscience Big Data and Cloud Analytics
A data science core at a major university is creating scalable tools and a cloud-based system to handle extremely large neuroscience data so researchers can share, analyze, and model findings.
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Administrative Core for a multi-institution brain science center
A central Administrative Core helps a Harvard brain science center coordinate a large, multi-institution project to keep finances, governance, and collaboration running smoothly.
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Brain and body together: understanding how the heart, lungs, and brain work as a system in zebrafish
This project studies how internal body signals like heart rate and breathing influence brain activity and behavior in zebrafish to better understand brain-body interactions.
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Odor trail tracking explains how senses guide decisions and brain circuits
Scientists are studying how mice actively smell and move to track a odor trail, revealing how the brain combines sense and action to guide continuous choices.
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HPF-X: High-pressure freezing with buffer exchange for faster cellular snapshots
A new device will let scientists rapidly exchange buffers and freeze cells at high pressure to capture fast, real-time cellular events for deeper understanding of how signals change proteins and membranes.
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Genomic clues to human brain specialization and autism
This project looks at human-specific genetic differences in brain development to understand why autism spectrum disorder can arise from neural vulnerabilities.
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Measuring and modeling how human stem cells pattern themselves
A scientist team at Harvard is studying how human stem cells sense signals and organize into patterns, to better understand normal development and related diseases.
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Brain Connects: Building a complete map of neurons in the mouse brain
Researchers will develop a high-throughput method to map every connection in a mouse brain, creating an ultra-detailed atlas that could illuminate how memory and brain disorders arise.
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How chromatin protein complexes control genes in cancer
This project looks at whether blocking a protein called LSD1 and its partners can stop cancers with altered gene-control machinery, such as some medulloblastomas.
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Understanding how data-driven neural models reveal brain dynamics
A research project uses advanced computer models to imitate brain activity and learn how neural circuits process and store information.
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Understanding how cells manage protein birth and breakdown to stay healthy
Scientists are studying how cells correctly build and dispose of proteins to prevent disease, using yeast and human cells to explore new helper systems and autophagy pathways.
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Decoding how gut bacteria transform plant compounds to affect health
This project looks at how the gut microbiome breaks down polyphenols from foods and how those changes might influence diseases like cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.
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Health and wellbeing of vulnerable service workers across their lives
A large study at Harvard looks at how unemployment and workplace practices affect health for adults working in service jobs over time.
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Integrated reading and attention help for kids with reading and attention challenges
A program called SPARK combines reading and attention strategies to help 3rd–5th graders who struggle with both reading and attention.
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Human-specific DNA changes that shape brain cells linked to autism
Researchers are looking at human-specific non-coding DNA changes that alter how brain cells develop to help explain autism.
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Understanding Sensorimotor Control with Realistic Neuro-Biomechanical Simulation
Researchers are building a computer-based brain-and-body model to better understand how movement and thinking work together in dynamic environments, which could inform treatments for movement disorders.
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Understanding how gut bacteria shape our immune T cells
This NIH grant explores how complex gut bacteria influence our immune T cells, with the goal of guiding new treatments for autoimmune diseases and other conditions.
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Comprehensive single-cell atlas of the developing mouse brain
A large multi-year project at Harvard to map every cell type and lineage in the developing mouse brain using advanced single-cell and spatial technologies.
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Antibiotics and how they kill tough Gram-negative bacteria
This NIH grant looks at how two peptide antibiotics disrupt the outer membrane in tough bacteria to help design better, safer drugs.
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