Sponsor or institution
Clinical trials and research at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute
As of November 12, 2026, Find a Trial lists 169 NIH-funded research projects at this institution, with $132.6 million in listed awards. Every study is explained in plain English. Data from ClinicalTrials.gov and NIH RePORTER, updated November 12, 2026.
- 169NIH research projects
NIH-funded research (newest 40 of 169)
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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Aging and liver cancer: new ways to prevent and fight hepatocellular carcinoma
This research explores how aging promotes liver cancer and tests new preventive approaches that could help people at higher risk due to age.
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EPHA2 signaling and breast cancer spread tied to the body’s stiffness
This grant explores how the EPHA2 receptor helps breast cancer cells respond to the stiffness of their surroundings and whether activating EPHA2’s normal signaling can block cancer invasion.
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Molecule-focused study on soluble TREM2 in Alzheimer's disease
A study to understand how soluble TREM2 in the brain and spinal fluid may influence Alzheimer's disease in people with the condition or at risk for it.
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How NRF2 and FBP1 control liver metabolism
This work looks at whether changes in two liver proteins, NRF2 and FBP1, help explain low blood sugar and fat buildup in the liver for people with metabolic liver problems or rare FBP1 deficiency.
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How mitochondrial and immune signals drive inflammation linked to Alzheimer's
This project looks at how damaged mitochondria and immune signaling cause inflammation that may contribute to Alzheimer's disease.
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Nup210’s role in leukemia and its potential as a target
A doctor-scientist team is studying how a protein called Nup210 helps a type of blood cancer (AML) grow, with the goal of finding new ways to predict outcomes and treat the disease.
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Understanding how RNA binding proteins drive liver scarring and how to slow it down
A researcher team is studying how certain RNA binding proteins, especially LARP6, regulate the liver’s scar-building process in alcoholic liver disease to identify potential ways to reduce fibrosis.
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Targeting GATA3 to develop new therapies for Th2-driven diseases like ulcerative colitis
Aiming to create a first-in-class drug approach that reduces harmful Th2 immune activity by degrading GATA3 to help people with ulcerative colitis.
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Molecular basis of nuclear pore formation in aging and neurodegeneration
This NIH grant studies how the tiny gateways in cells (nuclear pores) form and malfunction in aging and diseases like Alzheimer’s and ALS, with the hope of better understanding disease processes.
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Core 2: Bioinformatics and Genomics for Cancer Research
A cancer-focused team uses advanced computing and genomics to map mutations and pathways, build an integrated data platform, and guide future personalized approaches.
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Metabolomics core to map liver metabolism in liver cancer
A core facility will measure liver metabolism and metabolic flux to help understand how liver cancer develops and to guide new treatments.
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Metabolic stress and liver cancer: how STARD1 and SAB drive disease
Researchers are studying how stress inside liver cells related to diabetes and obesity may cause a form of liver cancer by disrupting mitochondria and bile acid processes.
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ATF6-driven liver cancer: how a stress signal may fuel hepatocellular carcinoma
A scientist team is studying how a stress signal in liver cells (ATF6) might drive liver cancer (HCC) and whether blocking it could help people with this disease.
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Control of NASH to HCC progression through NRF2 and FBP1 interactions
A research team is studying how NRF2 and FBP1 interact to influence the progression from fatty liver disease (NASH) to liver cancer (HCC) in people who have NASH.
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Administrative Core of a Program Project coordinating teams and resources
This grant supports a central team that keeps all projects aligned, shares core resources, and ensures smooth communication across participating sites to advance patient-related research.
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Role of metabolic stress in NASH-related liver cancer
This grant explores how metabolic stress linked to NASH may drive liver cancer and looks for ways to interrupt that process to help patients.
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Understanding how SORLA in microglia affects Alzheimer's disease
A study looking at how a gene called SORLA in brain immune cells (microglia) influences Alzheimer’s disease risk and progression.
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A new mouse model to study intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and its immunotherapy
A new mouse model helps researchers understand intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and test immune-based treatments to improve outcomes.
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Reawakening the adult heart's ability to regrow after injury
This project tries to change heart cell metabolism to help adults regrow heart muscle after a heart attack.
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Collagen and PDAC: how the tumor’s surrounding support system shapes growth and immunity
This grant looks at how collagen in pancreatic cancer interacts with tumor cells and the immune system to influence disease progression.
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Drug-like CRFBP-CRF2 modulators for alcohol use disorder
A new drug-discovery project aims to develop better small-molecule tools that could help reduce alcohol use by targeting a brain stress system target.
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ecDNA: a possible driver of tumor diversity and treatment resistance in high-risk medulloblastoma
A pediatric brain cancer research project is looking at circular DNA pieces inside tumor cells to see if they help the cancer become diverse and resistant to treatment.
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Brain-penetrant GPR88 agonists to help people struggling with opioid addiction
A new NIH-funded project aims to develop brain-penetrant GPR88 activating drugs to reduce opioid craving, withdrawal symptoms, and relapse risk in people with opioid use disorder.
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How sugar-adding enzymes shape immune reactions and diabetes
Researchers are looking at how enzymes that add sugars to cell surfaces might change immune attacks on insulin-producing cells in people with or at risk for Type 1 diabetes.
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New mouse model to improve immune therapy for intrahepatic bile duct (cholangiocarcinoma) cancer
This project builds a new mouse model to help make immune-based treatments work better for people with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, a type of bile duct liver cancer.
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Rewiring T cell exhaustion to boost anti-tumor therapy
Researchers are testing how to boost CD8+ T cells to help PD-1 checkpoint therapy work better against tumors.
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How human cellular protein complexes form inside cells
A research project uses advanced imaging and gene editing to study how human protein machines assemble inside cells, with a focus on the proteasome and related complexes.
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ApoE4 Correctors to Help Treat Alzheimer’s Disease
A new project is exploring small molecules that can change ApoE4 to behave more like ApoE3, with the goal of slowing or altering Alzheimer’s disease in people who carry the ApoE4 gene.
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Advanced tools for cancer metabolism research at a premier cancer center
A cancer metabolism core at a leading research institute is using cutting-edge GC-MS technology to map how cancer cells process nutrients, helping cancer scientists understand disease better.
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New congenital glycosylation therapies and models
Aimed at understanding how a therapeutic sugar used in glycosylation moves inside cells and which cellular pools contribute to making glycoproteins, with potential implications for treatment of congenital disorders.
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Potent, cancer-targeted inhibitors of SUV39H1 to boost immune attack on tumors
A new drug approach aims to turn difficult cancers into ones that the immune system can better fight by disabling a key protein called SUV39H1.
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TREM2: a helper in liver inflammation and scarring in NASH
A new approach studies how a liver immune receptor called TREM2 helps protect against liver inflammation and scarring in people with fatty liver disease that can progress to NASH.
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Ubiquitin D as a potential target to help NASH, kidney disease, and liver cancer
A new approach targets a protein called UBD to help people with fatty liver disease, kidney disease, and liver cancer that can arise from liver disease.
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Brain-acting medicines that target GPR88 for opioid addiction
This project develops new brain-penetrant drugs that turn on the GPR88 receptor to help reduce opioid craving, withdrawal symptoms, and addictive behaviors in people with opioid dependence.
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Dystrophin-deficient muscles: mapping 3D genome changes and restoring them
A Duchenne muscular dystrophy study tests how losing dystrophin alters the 3D genome in muscle cells and whether re-expressing dystrophin can reverse those changes.
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Mapping aging (senescent) cells across mouse organs over the lifespan
Researchers will create detailed maps of aging (senescent) cells in key organs of male and female mice to show where these cells appear and how they change with age.
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Hormetic regulation of autophagy in aging
A science team is studying how a controlled heat shock can trigger autophagy to help aging organisms stay healthier.
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NRF2-FBP1 cross-regulation in liver metabolism and disease
A liver-focused study looks at how two key metabolic regulators, NRF2 and FBP1, interact to influence sugar production and liver health in disease and during fasting.
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How caspase‑2 affects liver fat buildup and damage
This project aims to find out if caspase‑2 causes harmful liver fat buildup and inflammation in adults with non‑alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD/NASH).
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Understanding how brain potassium channels are built inside the body
Scientists are studying how native potassium channels in brain cells are made up of multiple parts, to understand how they control brain signaling.
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