Twenty-eight convening, research, and teaching endeavors based at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center in Washington, D.C., have been selected to receive funding from the university's Nexus Awards Program.
The projects span every academic division of the university—including the new School of Government and Policy—and include more than 100 scholars exploring a variety of topics, including AI in transportation, rare disease therapies, research in art history, and public-private-university partnerships for American space leadership.
"In the nearly three years since we opened the doors to our Hopkins Bloomberg Center, our 118 Nexus awardees have been instrumental to realizing its founding aspirations as a hub for interdisciplinary convenings, groundbreaking cross-divisional research, and exemplary teaching," said Ron Daniels, president of Johns Hopkins University.
"In Hopkins' 150th year, we are thrilled to support a fourth class of Nexus Award winners, who continue to fulfill the promise of this building by inspiring discovery and making a public and meaningful impact on the urgent issues of our time."
Nexus Awards are available in three categories:
- Convening: Convening teams may request up to $100,000, with an award term of up to one year for the development and execution of an academic or policy-focused conference or a series of conferences on any topic. These may be one-time events or a series of related events.
- Research: Research teams may request up to $300,000, with an award term of up to two years focusing on either a new area of collaborative work or an expansion of an ongoing area of collaborative work in fundamental, clinical, or applied research, or projects within the arts and humanities. Proposals may include an external, D.C.-based partner, and cross-disciplinary work is encouraged.
- Teaching: Teaching applicants may request up to $25,000 (renewable for two years) for undergraduate or graduate courses or co-curricular opportunities. While single faculty members may apply, courses that span multiple departments, schools, or divisions are encouraged.
"The Nexus Awards exemplify Johns Hopkins at its best—bringing together researchers across disciplines to tackle complex challenges with rigor, creativity, and a deep commitment to public impact," said Lainie Rutkow, interim provost. "At the Hopkins Bloomberg Center, these projects help connect groundbreaking research with the policy conversations and real-world needs shaping our future in Washington and beyond."
Added Cybele Bjorklund, executive director of the Hopkins Bloomberg Center and vice president of federal strategy for Johns Hopkins University and Medicine: "We are thrilled to welcome another round of Nexus awardees at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center. The work of our faculty continues to strengthen our mission of connecting evidence-based research with policy in Washington, D.C., to fuel discovery and dialogue."
The Nexus Awards Program continues its collaboration with the Johns Hopkins Institute for Planetary Health, receiving support for transdisciplinary research and convenings focused on analyzing and addressing the impacts of human disruptions to Earth's natural systems on human health. The projects receiving Johns Hopkins Institute for Planetary Health support this cycle are denoted with an asterisk below.
Nexus Awards recipients for 2026 are:
Convening
- Advancing a National Network for Safe, Healthy, and Equitable Schools: Odis Johnson (SOE), Annette Campbell Anderson (SOE), Panagis Galiatsatos (SOM), Catherine Ling (SON), Tamar Mendelson (BSPH), Elise Pas (BSPH)
- American Roots Festival: Andrew Kipe (Peabody), Michael Christie (Peabody), Sean Jones (Peabody), Joseph Young (Peabody)
- ASCENT 2027: Adopting Smell Screening for Cognition and Early Neurocognitive Testing: Nicholas Rowan (SOM), Andrew Lane (SOM), Leila Mady (SOM), Daniel Polsky (BSPH)
- Building a Sustainable Road Map for Engaged Research in Art History: Jennifer Kingsley (KSAS)
- Catalyst: Stimulating Undergraduate Research at the Science-Policy Interface: David Wilson (SOM), Jessica Dunleavey (WSE)
- Clinical, Ethical, Economic, and Public Health Dimensions of Psychedelic Policy: Mario Macis (Carey), Frederick Barrett (SOM), Michael Darden (Carey), Matthew Eisenberg (BSPH), Jeffrey Kahn (Berman), Daniel Polsky (BSPH), David Yaden (SOM)
- Convening Series on Government Reform: William Howell (SGP)
- Developing Ethics Guidance to Support Pregnant Women's Access to Non-Pharmacological Pain Management in Research and Practice: Stephanie Moran (Berman), Ruth Faden (Berman), Jeanne Sheffield (SOM)
- Distinguishing Causation from Correlation: Training for Journalists: Elizabeth Stuart (BSPH), Joanne Kenen (BSPH)
- Fostering Collaborative Pathways: Bridging Indigenous Health and Nursing to Address Health Disparities through Policy Advocacy: Teresa Brockie (SON), Allison Barlow (BSPH)
- From Validation to Vigilance: Convening Framework for Lifecycle Evaluation of Medical AI: David Rastall (SOM), Ayse Gurses (SOM), Ahmed Hassoon (BSPH), Kathy McDonald (SON), Peter Najjar (SOM), David Newman-Toker (SOM), Michael Rosen (SOM), Laura Sigman (SOM)
- Health Policy Implications of the 2026 Mid-Term Elections: Daniel Polsky (BSPH), Melinda Buntin (BSPH)
- "Hopkins in Space": Public-Private-University Partnership for American Space Leadership: Carla Freeman (SAIS), Svetla Ben-Itzhak (SAIS), Bobby Braun (APL), William Egginton (KSAS), Toby Gordon (CBS), Stephan McCandliss (KSAS), James Miller (APL), Mark Shelhamer (SOM), Gretar Tryggvason (WSE)
- Innovative Internships for a Thriving Democracy: Amy Binder (KSAS)
- International Planetary Probe Workshop 2026: Kenneth Hibbard (APL), Samuel Albert (APL), Steven Arnold (APL), Sarah Hörst (KSAS), Ralph Lorenz (APL)
- Medicine, Technology, and Environment: An International Summer School between Johns Hopkins University and the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation*: Nicole Labruto (KSAS), Jeremy Greene (SOM), Graham Mooney (SOM), Alexandre White (KSAS)
- Returning to Balance: Youth-Led, Strengths-Based Indigenous Arts Pathways to Health and Intergenerational Healing: Faye McMillian (BSPH), Kristen Speakman (BSPH), Melissa Walls (BSPH)
- Shaping the Future of Materials Science and Engineering: A National Convening of the University Materials Council: Michael Kessler (WSE)
- The Economics of Generative AI: Jessie Liu (Carey), Itay Fainmesser (Carey)
- The Interaction Point: US LHC & Future Collider Horizons: Andrei Gritsan (KSAS), Petra Maksimovic (KSAS), Morris Swartz (KSAS)
- The Past, Present, and Future of U.S. Humanitarian Assistance: Julia Cummiskey (SOM), Yulia Frumer (KSAS), Jeremy Greene (SOM), Dean Moyar (KSAS), Alexandra Phelan (BSPH)
- The Price of Hope: Ethics, Economics, and Policy for Rare Disease Therapy: Jeffrey Kahn (Berman), Tom Crawford (SOM), Mario Macis (Carey), Anna Mastroianni (Berman), Daniel Polsky (BSPH)
Research
- Bridging Community and Biology: Understanding how the Black African Immigrant Experience Shapes Breast Cancer Risk through Education and Epigenetic Investigation: Brittany Jenkins-Lord (BSPH), Avonne Connor (BSPH)
- Protection of Healthcare Systems During Conflict: Investigating Evolving Global Norms and the Impacts of Attacks on Healthcare Workers and the Communities they Serve: Yusra Shawar (BSPH), Majd AlGhatrif (SOM), Joseph Amon (BSPH), Shatha Elnakib (BSPH), Jeremy Shiffman (BSPH), Paul Spiegel (BSPH)
- Quantifying the Societal Benefits of AI in Transportation: Johnathon Ehsani (BSPH), Michelle Duren (BSPH), Jeffrey Michael (BSPH)
Teaching
- Applied Storytelling and Journalism Practicum: Shari Ross Altarac (KSAS), Mladen Petkov (KSAS)
- An Introduction to Planetary Health: Hunter Gehlbach (SOE), Megan Weil Latshaw (BSPH)
- Human-AI Fusion: Building Human-Centered AI Practice in the Nation's Capital: Wei Wang (Carey)
- The Silicon Patient: Engineering AI-Driven Digital Twins for the Future of Health Policy: Javad Abed (Carey), Anton Dahbura (WSE), Ala Elhelali (SOM)
∗ - denotes projects receiving additional support from the Johns Hopkins Institute for Planetary Health
