As New Jersey continues to cement its reputation as the “Medicine Chest of the World,” Rutgers University is doubling down on the future of high-tech healing. The Rutgers Center for Biomedical Informatics and Health Artificial Intelligence has announced its 2026 Pilot Grant Award recipients, funding three interdisciplinary teams tasked with using AI to solve some of the state’s most pressing health challenges.
Established in 2025, the program is designed to foster “Rutgers-wide” collaborations, bridging the gap between data science and bedside care. The one-year grants provide the seed money necessary to develop intellectual property and secure larger federal research installments.
“This second round of awards confirms our commitment to building a collaborative ecosystem that capitalizes on innovation and direct translational impact,” Leslie Lenert, director of the center and a professor at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School said.
A look at the three interdisciplinary teams:
1. Precision Medicine: Ending “Trial-and-Error” Prescriptions
The first team, led by Luigi Brunetti of the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, aims to revolutionize how New Jerseyans take their medicine. Currently, drug management often follows a reactive model—doctors prescribe a dose and wait to see if it works or causes side effects.
The project, titled “AI-Derived Multi-Dimensional Therapeutic Sequencing,” uses AI to predict exactly how a specific patient will respond to a drug before they ever take the first pill. By analyzing vast datasets, the team hopes to move toward a proactive model that eliminates drug toxicity and ensures precision responses for every patient.
2. Cancer Research: Uncovering the “Tumor Microbiome”
Focusing on one of the most aggressive forms of the disease, Tengteng Wang and a team from the Rutgers Cancer Institute are investigating Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC).
Their study will use AI to characterize the “intratumoral microbiome”—the specific types of bacteria living inside breast cancer tumors. The team is specifically looking at early-onset cases to see if certain bacterial “signatures” are linked to why younger women are being diagnosed. This research could lead to new risk stratification tools, allowing doctors to identify high-risk patients much earlier than traditional screening allows.
3. Stroke Rehabilitation: Re-Wiring the Brain with AI
In a collaboration involving the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and the Rutgers School of Health Professions, Qinyin Qiu is leading a project to help stroke survivors regain movement.
The project utilizes AI-Guided Close-Loop transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS). Unlike traditional physical therapy alone, this technology uses AI to deliver precise electrical impulses directly to the nervous system. The goal is to create a “closed-loop” where the AI senses the body’s needs and provides targeted stimulation to help the brain “relearn” how to move paralyzed muscles.
These grants represent more than just academic curiosity; they are a direct investment in the state’s public health infrastructure. By leveraging Rutgers’ strengths in biomedical informatics and NJIT’s engineering prowess, these projects aim to:
- Reduce Healthcare Costs: By preventing adverse drug reactions and improving stroke recovery timelines.
- Address Health Disparities: Particularly in breast cancer research focused on early-onset cases.
- Attract Tech Talent: Keeping New Jersey at the forefront of the burgeoning Health AI industry.
“Awardees will receive one year of funding to support projects with potential for future extramural grant applications,” the Center stated, signaling that these three projects are just the beginning of a larger shift toward AI-integrated healthcare in the Garden State.
For more information on the Pilot Grant Program and the future of computational medicine at Rutgers, visit the Rutgers Center for Biomedical Informatics.
