Since 2019, the ENRICH Office has provided $1.9 million in joint seed funding with TMC, supporting more than 50 research projects and advancing biomedical fields such as bioengineering, cancer diagnostics and therapeutics, cardiovascular health, neuroscience, behavioral health, general surgery, robotics, imaging, nursing and more.

Partner institutions, including Houston Methodist, Baylor College of Medicine, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, have matched these funds, resulting in an overall impact of $3.8 million.

PATHS- UP Digital Health Workshop Seed Grant

TMC Partner: Houston Methodist Academic Institute

This funding opportunity followed the second PATHS- UP Digital Health Workshop hosted by Rice’s Digital Health Initiative in Summer 2024, and it aimed to foster new collaborations between Rice and Houston Methodist, support the research teams in securing additional multi-source funding, and accelerate the translation of technologies into clinical applications.

Awarded Projects (2024). Three projects were awarded.

"Advancing the Early Diagnosis of Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease through Novel Imaging Techniques."

• Lei Li, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing, Rice University.
• Dr. Eleftherios Mylonakis, Charles and Anne Duncan Presidential Distinguished Chair, Department of Medicine, and professor of medicine, Houston Methodist Academic Institute.

"Leveraging Radiomic and Genomic Markers for Precision Diagnosis of Cardiac Sarcoidosis."

• Meng Li, Noah Harding associate professor in statistics, George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing, Rice University.
• Dr. Mahwash Kassi, assistant professor of cardiology, Houston Methodist Academic Institute.

"A Retrospective Study of Emerging Interventions in Minority Populations: Cardiovascular and Renal Benefits of GLP-1RA and SGLT2 Inhibitor Therapies in Minority Populations."

• Ashutosh Sabharwal, Ernest Dell Butcher Professor of Engineering and professor of electrical and computer engineering, George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing, Rice University.
• Dr. Abhishek Kansara, assistant professor of clinical medicine, Academic Institute
• Department of Medicine.

Digital Health and Health Equity Seed Grants

TMC Partner: Baylor College of Medicine and Houston Methodist Academic Institute.

This seed grant fosters interdisciplinary collaborations between Rice University and the Texas Medical Center and also leverages the combined knowledge of the two institutions to enhance innovations in health equity and digital health.

Awarded Projects (2024). Two projects which were each awarded a total of $50,000 in matching funds from the partnering institutions. More information.

"Evaluating Equity and Community-Level Vulnerabilities in the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence-based Symptom Checkers for Self-diagnosis."

• David Abraham, lecturer in biosciences, Rice University.
• Evan Siemann, the Harry C. and Olga K. Professor of BioSciences, Wiess School of Natural Sciences, Rice University.
• Dr. LeChauncy Woodard, associate professor, Medicine-Health Services Research, Baylor College of Medicine.

"Al-Driven ECG Analysis for Equitable Cardiovascular Risk Assessment and Prevention: Leveraging Transformer Models and Big Data to Reduce Health Disparities."

• Guha Balakrishnan, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing, Rice University.
• Dr. Sadeer Al-Kindi, associate professor of cardiology, Katz Investigator, DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center, Houston Methodist.

Engineering Solutions in Surgery

TMC Partner: Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) Department of Surgery INSTINCT program.

This initiative is designed to foster innovation and strengthen the collaborative efforts between Rice University and BCM, with a focus on advancing surgical research and education. The seed grants should lead to self-sustaining, nationally competitive research programs that will address critically important problems related to surgery.

Awarded Projects (2024). Two projects were selected for funding. More information.

"Parity-Time-Symmetric Wireless Transfer Systems to Eradicate Driveline Infections in Cardiac Assist Device."

• Joseph Cavallaro, PhD, professor of electrical and computer engineering, Rice University.
• Dr. Iki Adachi, associate professor, Department of Surgery, BCM.
• Nobuyuki Kurita, PhD, associate professor, Department of surgery, BCM.

"Structural Engineering of CeO₂/Perovskite Heterostructures for Tumor Imaging and Oxidative Stress Modulation via 3D-Printed Nanoneedle Patches Enabled Precision Delivery."

• Jun Lou, PhD, professor, department of materials science and nanoengineering, Rice University.
• Ghanashyam Acharya, PhD, associate professor, department of surgery, BCM.

Awarded Projects (2023). Two projects were selected for funding.

"Pathogenesis of Primary Graft Dysfunction in Lung Transplantation: Identifying Molecular and Cellular Biomarkers and Causal Effect of Sex."

• Meng Li, PhD, assistant professor of statistics, Rice University.
• Gabriel Loor, MD, associate professor, Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, BCM.

"Systemic Biomarkers and Modern Multimodal Machine Learning Algorithms for Stroke Prediction in Heart Failure Patients with Mechanical Circulatory Support."

• Vladimir Braverman, professor of computer science, Rice University.
• Nandan Mondal, assistant professor of surgery, BCM

Awarded Projects (2021). Three projects were selected for funding.

"Self-charging Wireless Pulse Sensor Integrated Vascular Graft for the Real-time Monitoring of Acute Thrombosis and Occlusion."

• Pulickel M. Ajayan, PhD, chair of materials science and nanoengineering, Rice University.
• Crystal Shin, PhD, assistant professor, Michael E.DeBakey Department of Surgery, BCM.

"Pathogenesis of Primary Graft Dysfunction in Lung Transplantation: Identifying Molecular and Cellular Biomarkers and Causal Effect of Sex."

• Meng Li, PhD, assistant professor of statistics, Rice University.
• Gabriel Loor, MD, associate professor, Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, BCM.

"Detecting Human Performance Deficiencies in Surgical Simulation Training Using Intelligent Multi-Modal Sensors."

• Vaibhav Unhelkar, PhD, assistant professor of computer science, Rice University.
• James Suliburk, MD, associate professor, Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, BCM.

Awarded Projects (2018). Three projects were selected for funding.

"Multifunctional 3D Printed Biomesh for Surgical Hernia Repair."

• Pulickel Ajayan, professor of engineering, Rice University.
• Ghanashyam Acharya, associate professor of surgery, BCM.

"Gene delivery of reprogramming factors to injured hearts to improve cardiac function."

• Junghae Suh, Professor of Bioengineering, Rice University.
• Dr. Todd Rosengart, professor and chair, department of surgery. BCM.

"Sustained local IL2 “Living Drug Therapy” enhances virus-like particles vaccine efficacy in controlling pancreatic cancer in preclinical animal models."

• Omid Veiseh, professor of bioengineering, Rice University.
• Qizhi Cathy Yao, professor of surgery, BCM.

Houston Methodist, Rice ENRICH, Ken Kennedy Institute Multi-Year Seed Fund Program

TMC Partner: Houston Methodist.

ENRICH, in partnership with the Ken Kennedy Institute and Houston Methodist, implemented a seed fund program that has supported research across various domains at Rice University over several years.

Awarded Projects (2023). Two projects were funded advancing the nursing field.

"Developing Spatially-Grounded Computational Task Models of Routine Nursing Procedures."

• Lydia Kavraki, chair, professor of computer science, Rice University.
• Vaibhav Unhelkar, assistant professor of computer science, Rice University.
• Shannan Hamlin, associate professor of nursing, Houston Methodist Academic Institute.

"Human Factors/Ergonomics Methodology to Evaluate Nursing Workload."

• Pat DeLucia, professor of psychological sciences, Rice University.
• Nicole Fontenot, Houston Methodist.

Awarded Projects (2022). Fifteen individual projects were funded up to $50,000 each and required a PI from each institution. ENRICH facilitated the seed fund process and award distribution.

Robotics and Imaging - Ten projects funded.

“Automated Performance Assessment of Robotic Surgery.”

• Marcia O’Malley, chair, department of mechanical engineering, Rice University.
• Dr. Randy Steadman, chair, department of anesthesiology & critical Care, Houston Methodist.
• Dr. Stephen Jones, associate research professor of medical informatics in surgery, Houston Methodist Academic Institute.
• Dr. Rodolfo Oviedo, Houston Methodist.

“Exploring Opportunities of Robot-Assisted Nursing during the Central Line Dressing Change Procedure.”

• Lydia Kavraki, chair, professor of computer science, Rice University.
• Vaibhav Unhelkar, assistant professor of computer science, Rice University.
• Shannon Hamlin, associate professor of nursing, Houston Methodist Academic Institute.
• Hsin-Mei Chen, associate professor of nursing, Houston Methodist Academic Institute.
• Nicole Fontenot, Houston Methodist.

“Toward Robotic Automated Vascular Access”

• Fathi H. Ghorbel, professor of mechanical engineering, Rice University.
• Dr. Huie Lin, associate professor of clinical cardiology, Houston Methodist Academic Institute.

“Imaging, AI & Visualization for Surgical Robotics: Big Problems to Solve.”

• Ashok Veeraraghavan, chair, department of electrical and computer engineering, Rice University.
• Stuart Corr, associate research professor of bioengineering in cardiovascular surgery, Houston Methodist Academic Institute.
• Dr. Osama Gaber, chair, department of surgery, Houston Methodist.
• Dr. Rodolfo Oviedo, Houston Methodist.

“Towards a Robot Assistant for Minimally Invasive Surgery: Manipulation of Surgical Tools under Interactive Surgeon Guidance.”

• Kaiyu Hang, assistant professor of computer science, Rice University.
• Lydia Kavraki, chair, professor of computer science, Rice University.
• Gavin Britz, chair, professor of neurosurgery, Houston Methodist Academic Institute.

“Use of AI analytics for ARDS trajectory prediction from digital chest X-rays.”

• Guha Balakrishnan, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, Rice University.
• Ashok Veeraraghavan, chair, department of electrical and computer engineering, Rice University.
• Dr. Asma Zainab, assistant professor of clinical anesthesiology & critical care, Houston Methodist Academic Institute.
• Dr. Atiya Dhala, assistant professor of clinical surgery, Houston Methodist Academic Institute.
• Dr. Faisal Masud, chair, professor of clinical anesthesiology & critical care, Houston Methodist Academic Institute.
• Dr. Diego Martin, chair, professor of radiology, Houston Methodist Academic Institute.
• Christof Karmonik, research professor of radiology, Houston Methodist Academic Institute.

“Machine-learning analysis of right ventricular shape for characterization of patients with functional tricuspid regurgitation.”

• Meng Li, associate professor of statistics, Rice University.
• Dr. Dipan Shah, chair, professor of cardiology, Houston Methodist Academic Institute.
• Andrada Guta, Houston Methodist.

“Real-Time Monitoring of Lower Extremity Perfusion During Revascularization.”

• Ashok Veeraraghavan, chair, department of electrical and computer engineering, Rice University.
• Ashu Sabharwal, professor of electrical and computer engineering, Rice University.
• Dr. Maham Rahimi, associate professor of cardiovascular surgery, Houston Methodist Academic Institute.

“Reconstructing CT scans from sparse X-rays for attenuation correction on cardiac SPECT Myocardial Perfusion Imaging.”

• Guha Balakrishnan, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, Rice University.
• Dr. Mouaz Al-Mallah, chair, professor of cardiology, Houston Methodist Academic Institute.
• Fares Alahdab, Houston Methodist.

“Fluorescence Colonoscopy for Molecular Imaging of Colorectal Cancer in Mice.”

• Tomasz Tkaczyk, professor of bioengineering & electrical and computer engineering, Rice University.
• Dr. Diego Martin, chair, professor of radiology, Houston Methodist Academic Institute.
• Zhonglin Liu, department of radiology, Houston Methodist

Psychological and behavioral health - Two projects funded.

“Characterizing Burnout in Nursing Populations using Wearables and Machine Learning-Based Analyses.”

• Ashu Sabharwal, professor of electrical and computer engineering, Rice University.
• Akane Sano, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, Rice University.
• Alok Madan, professor of psychology in psychiatry and behavioral health, Houston Methodist Academic Institute.
• Katelynn Bourassa, clinical psychologist, Houston Methodist.

“Impact of Past Traumatic Load on Physiological Markers During Pregnancy: A Machine Learning Approach.”

• Ashu Sabharwal, professor of electrical and computer engineering, Rice University.
• Akane Sano, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, Rice University.
• Alok Madan, professor of psychology in psychiatry and behavioral health, Houston Methodist Academic Institute.
• Jessica Rohr, clinical psychologist, Houston Methodist.

Cardiovascular bioengineering - Three projects funded.

“Enhancing the stability of RNA therapeutics via gas-phase encapsulation.”

• George Lu, assistant professor of bioengineering, Rice University.​
• Daniel Kiss, associate professor of cardiovascular sciences, Houston Methodist Academic Institute.

“Exosomal Delivery of Therapeutic mRNA.”

• Gang Bao, professor of bioengineering, Rice University.
• Dr. John Cooke, chair, professor of cardiovascular sciences, Houston Methodist Academic Institute.

“Identifying Novel Parameter in Echocardiography to Assess Right Ventricular Function Using Machine Learning.”

• Meng Li, PhD, assistant professor of statistics, Rice University.
• Dr. Ashrith Guha, associate professor of cardiology, Houston Methodist Academic Institute.

Provost's TMC Collaborator Fund

Established in 2021, the Provost's TMC Collaborator Fund at Rice University is a seed grant program that awards up to $50,000 for multidisciplinary research proposals. This program fosters new collaborative projects with faculty from TMC health-related institutions. The seed grants should lead to self-sustaining, nationally competitive research programs that will address critically important problems in or relevant to health care.

Awarded Projects (2024). Seven projects have been funded. More information.

"Enhancing Ethics and Humanities Research on Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare."

• Kirstin Matthews, fellow in science and technology policy, Rice's Baker Institute.
• Vasaliki N. Rahimzadeh, assistant professor, Center for Medical Ethics & Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine.

"Real-Time Analysis and Monitoring of FLASH Radiotherapy Beams."

• Pablo Yepes, research professor of physics and astronomy, Rice University.
• Emil Schueler, assistant professor, Department Radiation Physics, MD Anderson Cancer Center.
  

"Futbolito for all: Supporting active lifestyles for Latino children in Galena Park."

• Christopher Kulesza, scholar in child health policy, Rice's Baker Institute.
• Dr. Andrea Ramirez Varela, assistant professor of pediatrics, UTHealth McGovern Medical School.

"Understanding hellocare™ Implementation Outcomes."

• Pat DeLucia, professor of psychological sciences, Rice University.
• Taj Bhaloo, Memorial Hermann.

"A Mechanistic Framework for Optimal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation: Application to Pediatric Stroke Survivors with Arm Impairment."

• Raudel Avila, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, Rice University.
• Dr. Stuart Fraser, pediatric neurologist, UTHealth.

"Over-expression of p62 for an enhanced BCG Vaccine for Tuberculosis Prevention."

• Han Xiao, associate professor of chemistry, Rice University.
• Chinnaswamy Jagannath, professor of pathology and genomic medicine, Houston Methodist Academic Institute.

"Molecular mechanisms of FLASH radiation therapy."

• Anna-Karin Gustavsson, assistant professor of chemistry, Rice University.
• Emil Schueler, department of radiation physics, MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Awarded Projects (2023). Two projects were funded.

"Development and Validation of a Quantitative Behavioral Rating Scale for Parkinson’s."

• Ashu Sabharwal, professor of electrical and computer engineering, Rice University.
• Dr. Nora Vanegas-Arroyave, associate professor of neurology, Baylor College of Medicine.

"Staging and Understanding Pancreatic Cancer using Deep-Learning Assisted Raman Spectroscopy."

• Shengxi Huang, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and materials science and nanoengineering, Rice University.
• Huamin Wang, professor of pathology, MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Awarded Projects (2021). Two projects were funded.

"System-level Analysis of Regulatory Networks Controlling Bacterial Envelope Homeostasis During Antibiotic Stress."

• Lan Li, PhD, assistant professor of history, Rice.
• Dr. Ricardo Ernesto Nuila, associate professor of medicine, Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine.

"Medicine, Race, and Democracy: Reassessing Health Care Access in Houston."

• Oleg Igoshin, PhD, professor of bioengineering, Rice.
• Anna Konovalova, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, UTHealth McGovern Medical School.

IoT and Aging in Place Seed Grant Program

TMC Partner: UTHealth Cizik School of Nursing.

This collaboration sought to investigate how aging in place might make thoughtful and appropriate use of technology such as sensors, monitors, robots, wearables and other devices to support independent living for seniors. More information

Awarded Projects. Three projects were awarded, of which two included Rice faculty.

"Aging in Place with Cognitive Impairment: Toward User-Centered Assistive Technologies."

• PI: Patricia R. DeLucia, PhD, professor of psychological sciences, Rice University.
• Co-Investigators: Philip Kortum, Stephanie Leal, Fred Oswald, Rice University.
• Co-PI: Sabrina Pickens, PhD, RN, UTHealth Cizik School of Nursing.

"Facial and Body Motion Technology to Detect Psychosocial Distress in Stroke Survivors and Informal Caregivers Living at Home."

• PI: Jennifer E. S. Beauchamp, PhD, RN, UTHealth Cizik School of Nursing.
• Co-Investigator: Christopher Fagundes, PhD, professor of psychological sciences, Rice University.
• Co-PI: Shayan Shams, PhD, UTHealth School of Biomedical Informatics.

Houston Methodist - Rice ENRICH, IBB, DOD-specific Seed Grant

TMC Partner: Houston Methodist.

A single seed grant in the amount of $50,000 was jointly awarded to Rice and Methodist faculty on February 14, 2020. The seed grant program was co-sponsored by Rice ENRICH, Rice Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering (IBB), and Houston Methodist.

Awarded Project

"A Field-Deployable, Small Molecule Nanosensor with Specificity based on Lipophilicity."

• Jason Hafner, PhD, professor of physics & astronomy, Rice University.
• Carly S. Filgueira, PhD, assistant professor of nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute.

Neuro-Related Joint Seed Grants

TMC Partner: McGovern Medical School at UTHealth.

Awarded Projects (2019-2020).

"Multiscale Dynamic Modeling of Ribbon Synapses for Next Generation Strategies of Vision Restoration."

• Robert M. Raphael, PhD, associate professor of bioengineering, Rice University.
• Dr. Ruth Heidelberger, PhD, professor of neurobiology and anatomy, McGovern Medical School, UT Health.

"Photodynamic Treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease based on Directed Amyloid Photooxidation."

• Angel A. Martí, professor of chemistry, bioengineering, and materials science and nanoengineering, Rice University.
• Ines Moreno-Gonzalez, Department of Neurology, UT Health.

"Wireless Endovascular Neural Stimulators for Minimally Invasive Treatment of Depression."

• Jacob T. Robinson, PhD, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, Rice University.
• Dr. Sunil A. Sheth, assistant professor of vascular and interventional neurology, UTHealth McGovern Medical School.