UC San Diego Researchers Receive High-Risk, High-Reward Research Grants from the NIH

Two University of California San Diego researchers have received prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) director’s awards through the High-Risk, High-Reward Research program, which supports exceptionally creative scientists pursuing bold ideas with the potential for broad biomedical impact.

Supported by the NIH Common Fund, these grants are designed to advance high-impact research ideas that might be too preliminary or unconventional for traditional funding mechanisms.

The NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, established in 2007, supports early-stage researchers who are within 10 years of their final degree or postgraduate clinical training and have not yet received substantial NIH funding. The award totals nearly $2.4 million over five years.

Campbell’s lab combines stem-cell and organoid systems, animal models, engineered platforms and advanced imaging to study how environmental factors influence development from the maternal–fetal interface to the brain.

Environmental exposures during pregnancy, including pesticides, air pollution and common medications, have been linked to neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and schizophrenia, but how they affect the developing brain remains poorly understood.