HHS Launches Stem Cell Program to Restore Brain Function

The federal government is looking for researchers who can, in 5 years, develop stem cell treatments to repair brain damage caused by stroke, neurodegeneration, and trauma.

The Functional Repair of Neocortical Tissue (FRONT) program will make awards to scientists who can produce commercially viable graft tissue and develop engraftment procedures for functional brain recovery, according to a request for proposals issued by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, which is part of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The program will specifically target the largest region in the brain, the neocortex, which is responsible for higher cognitive functioning, including attention, thought, perception, and episodic memory. Officials said the aim is to develop technology to repair damage to this part of the brain caused by stroke, head trauma, or other neurodegenerative conditions.

“No technology exists to repair damaged tissue and fully restore lost function,” FRONT Program Manager Jean Hebert, PhD, said in a statement. “This will enable millions of individuals with what is currently considered permanent brain damage to regain lost functions, such as motor control, vision, and speech.”

However, the goal of developing this technology in 5 years is “very, very ambitious,” Brent E. Masel, MD, national medical director for the Brain Injury Association of America and clinical professor of neurology at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, told Medscape Medical News.

“It’s the proverbial moon shot,” he said. “It’s going to take more than 4 or 5 years to get this accomplished.”

Notably, there is no mention in the HHS announcement or the request for proposals of how much money could be awarded to researchers.

Projects funded through the FRONT program will use only adult-derived dedifferentiated stem cells. Proposals that call for the use of human embryonic or fetal tissue or human-animal chimeric tissue will not be accepted, according to the solicitation.

The restrictions on the types of stem cells to be considered should not be a hurdle, said Masel.

“Fifteen years ago, that would have been a limitation,” he said, adding that many researchers now work with adult-derived dedifferentiated cells.

Some researchers are making strides using stem cells in brain diseases.

As reported by Medscape Medical News in April, a group in Tokyo, Japan, and another group at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City, both reported positive results in early studies of using stem cells to produce dopamine in the brains of patients with Parkinson’s disease.

In May 2024, Stanford University, Stanford, California, researchers reported at the American Academy of Neurological Surgery that a small number of stroke patients who received neural stem cell transplants had recovered some motor function.

Researchers interested in the FRONT program have until August 18 to submit a proposal summary. Final proposals are due by September 25.

Masel reported that he is employed by a chain of for-profit brain injury rehabilitation facilities.

Alicia Ault is a Saint Petersburg, Florida-based freelance journalist whose work has appeared in many health and science publications, including Smithsonian.com. You can find her on X @aliciaault and on Bluesky @aliciaault.bsky.social.