September 2026
Office for Sponsored Projects brings research support teams together
Northwestern established the Office for Sponsored Projects (OSP) on Sept. 14, bringing Sponsored Research (SR) and Accounting Services for Research and Sponsored Programs (ASRSP) together within the Office for Research. The new unit is intended to improve coordination across pre- and post-award activities and provide more integrated support as sponsored projects grow in complexity. Chief Research Operating Officer Renee Gonzales oversees OSP, working with SR and ASRSP leaders Cathy Barrera and LaShawnda Hall and their teams.
For now, existing processes and points of contact remain the same. The Office for Research will communicate any future changes to the research community.
Northwestern also launched a national search for its next vice president for research. Provost Erik Luijten and Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Amanda Distel will co-chair the search committee. As part of broader Office for Research changes, the vice president for research will report directly to the president, with a dotted line to the provost. The University also announced expanded responsibilities for Lisa Dhar, Brian Mustanski and Enectali Figueroa-Feliciano.
Read more about the search and Office for Research changes in Northwestern Now.
In this issue
Research News Across Campus
- Sponsored funding fuels research across Northwestern
- Applications open for two NUCATS funding opportunities
- What’s standing between patients and faster access to lifesaving healthcare innovations?
- Nanoscape explores water insecurity with Sera Young
- Northwestern joins Halo's flagship university program
- Seed Grants carve paths to possible Future Funding
- Wakschlag concludes decade as DevSci founding director
- Northwestern Innovates showcases the journey from research discovery to real-world impact
Research Activities Across Campus
- Global working group tackles heat beneath cities
- QSI RENU Distinguished Lecture in Regenerative Engineering
- Querrey InQbation Lab helps researchers explore the market potential of emerging technologies
Important Policy and Guidance Updates
Research Breakthroughs
Sponsored funding fuels research across Northwestern
Northwestern secured approximately $1.03 billion in sponsored research awards in FY2026, its fourth consecutive year above $1 billion. The University received 3,153 awards supporting work in health, energy, technology, national security and other areas.
Major awards included $20 million from the National Science Foundation for the DREAM Cloud Lab and $30 million for the Center for Genome Intelligence Engineering. Northwestern researchers also joined four projects in the Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission.
“Northwestern’s sponsored funding success matters most because it gives our faculty, students and staff the resources to pursue research that advances knowledge, strengthens our nation and improves lives,” said Sumit Dhar, interim vice president for research. “This success also reflects the strong leadership of Eric Perreault, who served as the vice president for research for most of the past year, and the extraordinary work of our Sponsored Research and ASRSP teams, which support investigators and research administrators throughout the sponsored-project lifecycle.”
Total funding was about 1.2% below FY2025, while NIH funding rose nearly 12% to $553.8 million. Researchers submitted 4,445 proposals seeking a combined $4.75 billion, both increases over the previous year.
Global working group tackles heat beneath cities
Waste heat from buildings and buried infrastructure is warming the ground beneath cities, with potential consequences for subway riders, building foundations and urban environments. Research in Chicago has shown how underground heat can cause the ground beneath buildings to shift.
The Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs has established an Underground Climate Change Global Working Group to bring research and practical expertise together. Co-led by Northwestern faculty Alessandro Rotta Loria of McCormick and Magdalena Osburn of Weinberg, the group will work with scholars, cities, utilities and industry partners to identify priorities for research, policy and practice. Learn more about the group and its collaborators.
QSI RENU Distinguished Lecture in Regenerative Engineering
Professor Eun Ji Chung from the University of Southern California will visit Northwestern on October 2 to deliver the inaugural QSI RENU Distinguished Lecture in Regenerative Engineering.
The lecture, titled "Targeted Nanotherapeutics for Rare and Genetic Kidney Disease: Toward Restoring Organ Function,” will take place from noon to 1 p.m. at the Simpson Querrey Auditorium on the Chicago campus. Lunch will be provided and registration is required by September 28. See the full event details and register to attend.
Research security and export control updates for the new academic year
As the academic year begins, faculty, staff and students should be aware of evolving federal research security and export control requirements. Recent updates to government restricted-party and high-risk entity lists, along with new restrictions affecting research collaborations, equipment, services, and vendors, may impact federally funded activities. Before initiating or continuing international collaborations with high-risk countries faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to consult Export Controls & International Compliance (ECIC) and Research Security website to ensure compliance and protect funding eligibility. Contact the ECIC team for assistance.
Applications open for two NUCATS funding opportunities
Two NUCATS funding opportunities are now accepting applications for 2027. The Eisenberg Pilot Awards and the Giddan Child Health Research Awards are open for proposals until October 31, 2026.
Learn more about each award and submission requirements:
Giddan Child Health Research Awards
What's standing between patients and faster access to lifesaving healthcare innovations?
New projects supported by the NUCATS Institute hope to answer that question. The 2026 Translational Science Research Project Awards, providing up to $400,000 in funding over two years, support innovative proposals aimed at bridging the gap from bench to bedside. Learn more about the projects and the researchers behind them.
Nanoscape explores water insecurity with Sera Young
A new episode of Nanoscape: Exploring the Frontiers Ahead is now live, featuring Sera Young, an anthropologist and global health researcher at Northwestern University and an IIN-affiliated faculty member.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts
This episode takes Nanoscape in a new direction, exploring how anthropology, synthetic biology and nanotechnology can come together to address water insecurity. Young discusses her work on the Water InSecurity Experiences, or WISE Scales, which help make water challenges visible in communities around the world.
The conversation also connects to work happening close to home in Chicago, where Young and collaborators, including Julius Lucks, co-director of Northwestern’s Center for Synthetic Biology, are helping develop rapid, at-home water diagnostics for contaminants such as lead.
Northwestern researchers tackle solar cell instability at its source
A longstanding challenge for next-generation solar cells begins in the moments when their light-absorbing materials first take shape. Northwestern University researchers have developed a new approach to control this early crystallization process, preventing materials from separating into distinct regions that can undermine both the efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells. The study was published in Nature and supported by the Paula M. Trienens Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern University.
Northwestern joins Halo's Flagship University Program
Northwestern has joined Halo’s Flagship University Program, a strategic initiative that strengthens connections between leading research universities and corporate innovation teams. Halo promotes university research expertise, technologies, and innovation capabilities to industry audiences, making it easier for companies to identify and engage with faculty whose work aligns with their research and business priorities.
To make this effort successful, faculty participation is essential. We invite you to claim your page on Halo's site by searching for your name. If you do not find your name, click the 'Create a new profile' option. Faculty profiles are created using publicly available information. (This is a "one-click" process.) Once activated, your profile becomes visible to industry partners and can be promoted through Halo. If you have already created a Halo page, you do not need to claim it and there is nothing else you need to do.
Learn more: Faculty are invited to join a Halo webinar on September 29 from noon to 1 p.m. to learn about the platform and how to make your research more discoverable by industry. Contact Corporate Engagement with questions.
Seed grants carve paths to possible future funding
This year, IPR awarded six seed grants to seven faculty members and a doctoral student across four disciplines that are set to launch pilot studies on pressing policy and social issues. The projects examine topics ranging from declining U.S. fertility rates and interracial relationships to voting rights and healthcare decision-making, laying the groundwork for larger projects and possible external funding.
Wakschlag concludes decade as DevSci founding director
Lauren "Laurie" Wakschlag, PhD, stepped down Sept. 8 after a decade as founding director of Northwestern's Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences (DevSci). Under her leadership, DevSci grew into a cross-school community of nearly 200 investigators and 125 trainees working to improve children’s health, well-being and learning.
Wakschlag is moving to Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago as Vice Chair for Early Mental Health Science & Strategy and will retain her Northwestern faculty appointment. Elizabeth Norton, PhD, a longtime DevSci leader, became interim director September 9 and will serve through the 2026–27 academic year as the Institute sustains its work and explores future opportunities. Full story.
Querrey InQbation Lab helps researchers explore the market potential of emerging technologies
Northwestern's Querrey InQbation Lab recently hosted Market Fit Fundamentals, a two-session workshop that helped researchers explore how customer discovery and market validation can inform commercializing emerging technologies. Led by venture investor and entrepreneurship educator Emily Baum, the program brought together PhD, MD, and MBA students, postdoctoral fellows, and research faculty to learn practical approaches to identifying customers, testing assumptions, and evaluating potential markets. Participants applied these frameworks to five technologies under development by members of the Northwestern research community, spanning neuroscience, robotics, quantum imaging, semiconductors, and battery safety. The workshop emphasized an important complement to technical research: understanding not only what a technology can do but also whose problem it solves and what could drive adoption. LinkedIn Post
Northwestern Innovates showcases the journey from research discovery to real-world impact
The Innovation + New Ventures Office (INVO) has launched Northwestern Innovates, a website showcasing technologies developed by Northwestern researchers. Through individual profiles, the site explores the origins of Northwestern innovations, the researchers behind them, and the commercialization pathways that have advanced them toward broader real-world application. The featured technologies span healthcare, advanced materials, energy, diagnostics, digital tools, manufacturing, sustainability, computing, and other fields. The stories show that research translation can take many forms, including startup formation, licensing, industry collaboration, continued technical development, and regulatory advancement, and demonstrate the societal impact of Northwestern research.
