Maryland’s Department of Commerce gets behind university research with new grants

There are 146 R1 institutions nationwide, with three located in Maryland. R1 universities rely on professors and funding to drive research. That’s where the Maryland Department of Commerce comes in.

For FY2024, the department collaborated with Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Loyola University Maryland and the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) to invest nearly $13.5 million in research professorships through the Maryland E-Nnovation Initiative Fund (MEIF), which was established in 2014.

“Maryland Commerce is thrilled to partner with our state’s world-class universities to accelerate cutting-edge research across a range of disciplines, including health care, artificial intelligence, and economic justice,” said Commerce Secretary Kevin Anderson in a press release. “The Maryland E-Nnovation Initiative helps lay a foundation of innovative thought and technology that will eventually lead to new entrepreneurial activity and economic growth.”

The program is collaborative in that the application-based funding has a matching component. The funds support university research across disciplines, such as AI in healthcare, biotechnology, bioengineering and even social work.

Morgan State University received a $1 million award from MEIF in FY2023. University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) also received $1 million in FY2022, before receiving R1 status in FY2023.

While the announcement for FY2024 has a focus on only three university recipients, the decision about additional FY2024 funding has yet to be finalized, according to Commerce Department communications staff. The deadline for FY2024 awards passed at 4 p.m. on Nov. 1.

In this latest round, JHU received $1.5 million in funding, plus matched funds, for two research professorships: one in ocular regenerative medicine, led by Dr. Amer Riazuddin, and another for a professorship within its Center for Digital Health and AI that focuses on applications in healthcare.

Loyola University Maryland’s $1 million award and its matched funds are dedicated to an endowed professorship in innovation, through which it will retain Professor Michael Tangrea.

UMB and constituent institutions received three E-Nnovation awards, totaling $2.75 million (with matching donations pushing the sum to $5.5 million), to support multi-disciplinary research led by Dr. J. Marc Simard; a dental professorship named after Dr. Karen J. Ivers; and someone yet to be hired in a new position within the School of Social Work.