At universities and hospitals across Rhode Island, scientists and physicians are hoping the next big medical breakthrough could come from right here at home.

The Rhode Island Foundation just announced nearly $650,000 in seed funding for 26 research projects, backing everything from AI-assisted breast cancer detection and new concussion treatments to postpartum mental health and the ever-growing world of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs.

Here's a breakdown of the projects getting $25,000 grants from the foundation.

🧪 Postpartum mental health research focused on depression, anxiety and suicide risk among new mothers and partners (URI)

🧪 Building AI systems that can better explain and correct errors in breast cancer diagnosis models (URI)

🧪 Testing brain stimulation treatment for adolescents with persistent concussion symptoms (URI)

🧪 Piloting a Type 2 diabetes prevention program for Latina adolescents (Johnson & Wales)

🧪 Studying patient experiences and adherence challenges with GLP-1 weight-loss medications (Miriam Hospital)

🧪 Research into DNA damage caused by the human LINE-1 ORF2p endonuclease (Brown University)

🧪 Studying the immune-system effects of GLP-1 receptor agonists (Miriam Hospital)

🧪 Improving infectious disease and substance-use services in Rhode Island (Miriam Hospital)

🧪 Research into PTEN signaling in neural circuits tied to feeding and threat avoidance (Providence College)

🧪 Adapting an HIV treatment support model for people leaving incarceration in Uganda (Rhode Island Hospital)

🧪 Improving emergency medicine resident training on genital exams (Rhode Island Hospital)

🧪 Studying tumor biology and Chi3L1 inhibition in chordoma (Rhode Island Hospital)

🧪 Developing multimodal AI for heart failure detection and prognosis (Rhode Island Hospital)

🧪 Creating a rapid cytokine assay to predict CAR-T therapy toxicities (Rhode Island Hospital)

🧪 Testing nerve stimulation treatment for restless legs syndrome during pregnancy (Rhode Island Hospital)

🧪 Research into microbiome editing to reduce bacterial virulence (URI)

🧪 Piloting a positive-affect intervention to improve family mental health outcomes (URI)

🧪 Discovering antibiotics from marine mollusk symbionts (URI)

🧪 Testing pharmacist-supported approaches to improve medication outcomes and healthcare access (URI)

🧪 Studying a non-toxic bacterial therapy for pancreatic cancer (URI)

🧪 Developing AI-enhanced brain-computer interfaces using EEG and behavioral data (URI)

🧪 Creating a browser-based eye-tracking and pupilometry research platform (URI)

🧪 Enhancing self-amplifying RNA vaccines with immune adjuvants (URI)

🧪 Studying how SNAP work requirements affect participation and food purchases (URI)

🧪 Improving personalized cancer mRNA vaccines (URI)

🧪 Research into proton tunneling in photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy (URI)