Sponsor or institution
Clinical trials and research at Pennsylvania State Univ Hershey Med Ctr
As of November 12, 2026, Find a Trial lists 302 NIH-funded research projects at this institution, with $182.0 million in listed awards. Every study is explained in plain English. Data from ClinicalTrials.gov and NIH RePORTER, updated November 12, 2026.
- 302NIH research projects
NIH-funded research (newest 40 of 302)
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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Cognitive behavioral therapy and trazodone for insomnia phenotypes with high blood pressure
A clinical study tests how CBT-I and the sleep drug trazodone work for adults with insomnia and high blood pressure, focusing on a specific sleep duration pattern.
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Understanding the STIM/Orai Calcium Signaling Pathway in Cancer
Researchers are studying how STIM and Orai proteins control calcium signals inside cells and how this affects cancer-related growth and remodeling, with hopes to find ways to influence these signals for better treatments.
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Understanding how some Amish communities maintain high birth rates in modern times
A project will build a large, time-sensitive dataset to understand why Amish families keep having many children, even as broader society has much lower birth rates.
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Scoliosis and neurosurgical factors in myelomeningocele: a clinic registry study
This project uses registry data from Penn State’s Spina Bifida Clinic to understand how brain and spine-related issues influence when and why scoliosis surgery is needed in people with myelomeningocele.
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Understanding how damaged stomach cells revert to a repair state to prevent cancer
Researchers are studying how certain stomach cells re-enter the cell cycle to aid tissue repair, and how this process might lead to metaplasia or cancer if it goes wrong.
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Aging, cell aging, and how MCPyV causes Merkel cell carcinoma
Aging and aging-related changes in skin cells may help a common virus (MCPyV) persist and potentially lead to a rare skin cancer in people with weaker immune systems.
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Role of a genetic axis in blood stem cells and leukemia
Aims to understand how a specific genetic pathway keeps healthy blood stem cells in check and how it goes wrong in acute myeloid leukemia, with the goal of guiding future therapies.
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Genetic clues to lipid subfractions across ages and environments
A one-year-old and older children’s lipids are studied to understand how genes shape tiny fat particles in the blood over time and in different settings.
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Self-sampling for cervical and colorectal cancer screening among underscreened adults
A large study will test whether giving patients self-sampling kits by mail leads to more people completing cancer screening compared to just sending a scheduling reminder.
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Understanding glioblastoma necrosis to find new therapeutic targets
Researchers are studying why a deadly brain cancer called glioblastoma becomes so aggressive, with a focus on necrosis and a cell death process that may open doors to new treatments for adults living with this disease.
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Cystine-limited stress and pancreatic cancer growth and spread
Aims to understand how pancreatic cancer cells survive when the nutrient cystine is scarce and to find weak spots that could be targeted to slow or stop tumor growth and spread.
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CardioPredict ML: A smarter way to gauge heart risk before pregnancy
A machine learning tool helps identify women at risk for pregnancy-related heart problems before conception, using health records and prior pregnancy data.
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Myelin-based imaging marker for early Alzheimer’s detection and cognitive change
A small, patient-friendly study will test whether a noninvasive brain imaging measure of myelin can flag early Alzheimer’s changes before noticeable memory problems.
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Precision tapering of dupilumab in asthma to reduce dose while keeping control
This grant tests whether adults with well-controlled asthma on dupilumab can safely extend dosing intervals to save costs while keeping symptoms in check.
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Thiamine for Recovery After Early-Life Infections in Adults?
A study will test whether adding thiamine to standard antibiotic treatment helps improve brain-related outcomes in infants with serious bacterial infections who are hospitalized.
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Tracking scoliosis and spine surgery outcomes for people with spina bifida
This project uses clinic registry data to look at when people with myelomeningocele need scoliosis surgery and what happens to them afterward.
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Redox-triggered REDD1 blockers for diabetic retinopathy
A research project tests new ways to stop a stress protein (REDD1) from causing vision problems in people with diabetic retinopathy.
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Insomnia subtypes and sleep meds: CBT-I and trazodone for adults with high blood pressure
We’re testing whether a sleep therapy (CBT-I) and the antidepressant trazodone help adults with insomnia and high blood pressure, especially those with the short-sleep-insomnia subtype.
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Penn State CTSI: Advancing rural health with clinical and translational science
A large NIH program aimed at improving rural health in Pennsylvania by strengthening clinical and translational research across campuses and health systems.
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Data Coordinating Center for Type 1 Diabetes in Acute Pancreatitis Consortium
A national effort to learn how pancreatitis-related Type 1 diabetes develops, by tracking patients and coordinating data to improve future care.
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Sleep therapy versus trazodone for short-sleep insomnia and high blood pressure
This project compares a talk-based sleep program (CBT-I) and the medication trazodone to help adults with insomnia who also have elevated blood pressure, especially those who sleep less at night.
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How alcohol and nicotine together affect brain signals and addiction
This grant tests how drinking and smoking together change brain immune signals and drive ongoing use, using a rat model that mimics real-life nicotine vaping and alcohol drinking.
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CSF Proteogenomics to Improve Diagnosis and Management of Diffuse Gliomas
A study from Penn State Hershey aims to use proteins found in CSF to better diagnose and guide treatment for adults with diffuse gliomas.
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Direct measurement of RhD sensitization after early-pregnancy bleeding
This study tests how often Rh immunoglobulin given after bleeding in early pregnancy prevents RhD sensitization in pregnant people.
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Role of HOTTIP and HOXA9 in blood stem cells and leukemia
This grant looks at how a specific gene network drives the self-renewal of blood stem cells and leukemia stem cells, with the hope of finding targeted ways to treat AML.
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Understanding how HIV-1 packages its genome by Gag at transcription sites
This NIH grant investigates how the HIV-1 Gag protein finds and binds the viral genome at transcription sites, which could lead to a new way to stop virus assembly.
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How a molecular signaling loop (HOTTIP–β‑catenin–HOXA9–PRMT1) controls normal and leukemia blood stem cells
Looking at whether blocking a chain of molecules (HOTTIP–β‑catenin–HOXA9–PRMT1) can stop the leukemia stem cells that keep adult acute myeloid leukemia going.
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Understanding how Hepatitis B virus packages and copies itself
This grant explores how HBV forms its protective capsid and how the virus makes a copy of its DNA inside human liver cells, with the goal of finding new ways to stop chronic infection.
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Small, durable heart pump for children
A child-friendly, compact heart pump is being developed and tested to help kids with severe heart failure while waiting for a donor heart.
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Keratinocyte glue and signaling in the skin blistering disease pemphigus vulgaris
Researchers are studying how skin cells stick together and how this sticking breaks down in pemphigus vulgaris to find better, safer treatments for patients.
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New immune-based inhibitors to modulate T cells in chronic heart failure
A patient-facing overview of a study exploring how immune cells, especially CD4+ T-cells, influence heart healing and worsening of heart failure after a heart attack, with the goal of finding targeted ways to improve heart function.
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Biostatistics and Data Management Core for Tobacco Addiction Research
A team of biostatisticians and data experts will support multiple projects on tobacco products, helping researchers analyze data accurately and manage information efficiently.
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Biomarker and Analytical Chemistry Core for tobacco research
A center core project uses advanced chemical measurements to study tobacco products and how exposure affects people and animal models.
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Career Enhancement Core for Tobacco Regulatory Science
This grant supports training the next generation of tobacco regulatory science researchers at Penn State to strengthen how tobacco products are regulated in the future.
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Administrative Core to Coordinate Tobacco Regulatory Science at Penn State TCORS
This grant supports a central team that coordinates researchers, FDA staff, and partner institutions to guide and manage tobacco regulatory science projects.
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Nicotine Pouches for Smokers: A Randomized Trial
A invited group of current smokers will try nicotine pouches with different nicotine levels to see how these products affect smoking behavior and health over about four months.
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Penn State tobacco product toxicity and addiction research hub
A center-based effort to understand how tobacco product aerosols and oxidants affect health and addiction, with the goal of guiding safer regulations.
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Targeting small extracellular vesicles to curb neuroblastoma spread
A study to see if blocking tiny bubbles released by neuroblastoma cancer cells can slow spread and make treatments work better for children with this cancer.
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Role of surfactant protein A variant and sex in neonatal RSV infection
A 5-year program to understand why certain genetic variants and being male make newborns more vulnerable to RSV, with training to become an independent researcher.
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Translating Membrane Geometry into Protein Functions
Researchers are studying how the shapes of cell membranes guide protein actions, with a focus on autophagy-related proteins, to understand how membranes control important cellular processes.
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