Big Grants Boost New Ways to Save Babies and Fight Overdoses

The University of California, San Diego has just secured two sizeable research awards that together amount to $16 million. One grant comes from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, a federal program that looks to speed up life‑changing medical inventions. It will fund a team led by electrical engineering professor Drew Hall and OB/GYN researcher Louise Laurent to create a rapid blood test. The goal is to spot signs that an unborn baby may suffer from low oxygen after birth, using markers like tiny DNA fragments or proteins found in the mother’s blood. If successful, doctors could intervene much earlier and improve newborn outcomes.The second award is a $5. 6 million Avant‑Garde Award from the National Institute of Drug Abuse. It will support mathematical biologist Natasha Martin and her colleagues at UCSD School of Medicine. They plan to build artificial‑intelligence “digital twins” that mimic the decision‑making of people living with HIV, hepatitis C or those at risk for drug overdose. By simulating how these individuals react to different treatments and prevention tactics, the researchers hope to test strategies in a virtual setting before trying them in real life. This could help design better health services and identify hidden barriers that keep some groups from getting care. Both projects illustrate a growing trend in medical research: using technology to predict problems early and tailor solutions to specific populations. The funding also reflects a broader governmental push to bring cutting‑edge science into everyday clinical practice, especially in areas where early intervention can save lives.