Heart-Brain-Diabetes Interdisciplinary Studies Program Recipients

April 3, 2026

The Stanley and Judith Frankel Institute for Heart and Brain Health (Frankel IHBH), Caswell Diabetes Institute (CDI), and the Michigan Diabetes Research Center (MDRC), are delighted to announce the recipients of the Heart-Brain-Diabetes Interdisciplinary Studies Program:

Nadejda Bozadjieva Kramer, PhD (Surgery) and Roger L. Albin, MD (Neurology) proposal:

“Targeting the Gut-Brain Axis in Parkinson’s Disease: Therapeutic Potential of Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy in a Mouse Model.”

Alison Affinati, MD, PhD (Internal Medicine - Metabolism, Endocrinology, and Diabetes) and Jun Wu, PhD (Life Sciences Institute)

“Cholinergic regulation of glycemic control.”

Dr. Jiandie Lin, Director of the Pilot/Feasibility Grant Program at MDRC notes, “the HB-DISP program leverages the resources from the Frankel Institute of Heart and Brain Health, the Caswell Diabetes Institute, and the Michigan Diabetes Research Center to catalyze innovative interdisciplinary projects focused on cardiometabolic disease. The two-year support is structured to provide sufficient runway for the selected teams to launch and advance collaborative research.”

These awards support new interdisciplinary collaborations among University of Michigan faculty from distinct fields, enabling them to combine their expertise to study the impact of metabolic diseases on the heart and/or brain. The goal is to foster synergistic partnerships that advance scientific inquiry.

Dr. Anthony Rosenzweig, Director of the Frankel IHBH commented, “It was a pleasure to partner with Drs. Martin Myers and Jiandie Lin of the Caswell Diabetes Institute and the MDRC on these awards. We are excited to help support these proposals and look forward to following their scientific progress as it unfolds.”

The Frankel IHBH Multidisciplinary Pilot Award FY 27 in partnership with the Biointerfaces Institute call for applications will launch in June 2026.

Please contact our team with any questions or for additional information.

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