October 9, 2025 Posted by AHW Endowment
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The Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment (AHW) has announced the recipients of its 2025 Momentum Grants—awarding $10.9 million to 44 new projects that will drive measurable health improvement across Wisconsin.
Through a competitive application process, community-based nonprofits and Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) faculty secured grants of up to $250,000 for projects advancing health and equity statewide. All proposals underwent a rigorous review before final approval by AHW’s three oversight bodies: the MCW Consortium on Public and Community Health, the AHW Research and Education Advisory Committee, and the MCW Board of Trustees.
AHW awarded 26 community-focused grants totaling $6.4 million, supporting initiatives across six urban and 27 rural counties. Projects will address critical needs, including mental health for Wisconsin veterans, healthcare workforce development, social services for seniors, underage drinking prevention, and lead exposure reduction.
An additional 18 MCW faculty-led projects, totaling $4.4 million, will advance research to improve outcomes for women with breast cancer, enable early detection and personalized therapies for Alzheimer’s disease, explore new treatments for obstructive sleep apnea, and strengthen the STEM education pipeline.
“The Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment’s Momentum Grant awards represent the power of our unique formula for health philanthropy,” said AHW Executive Director Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH. “Operating within the Medical College of Wisconsin, we are able to fuel the best work in community health improvement throughout the state while also advancing the very latest biomedical and health science—all in fulfillment of our mission to improve the lives of all Wisconsinites.”
The projects listed below will launch in November 2025 and be completed within 24 months. Use the links below to visit each project’s summary page and learn more.
2025 AHW Momentum Grant Recipients
Health-Focused Research
Brain Mechanisms of Physical Activity Stress-Resilience
Principal Investigator: Cecilia Hillard, PhD, Pharmacology and Toxicology
Cultivating Equitable Resilience: Assessing Comprehensive Impacts of Schoolyard Greening
Principal Investigator: Kirsten Beyer, PhD, MPH, MS, Institute for Health & Humanity
Principal Investigator: Yang Wang, MD, PhD, Radiology
Dual-Target CAR-T Cell Therapy for Precise Management of Multiple Myeloma
Principal Investigator: Fumou Sun, PhD, Medicine
Enhanced Effects of Fentanyl-Xylazine Combinations and Limited Efficacy of Narcan in Adult Goats
Principal Investigator: Matthew Hodges, PhD, Physiology
Principal Investigator: Terri deRoon-Cassini, PhD, Surgery
FXR1 Therapy Development for Cancer Treatment
Principal Investigator: Brian Smith, PhD, Biochemistry
Group Singing or Solo Singing in Older Adults with Coronary Artery Disease: A Feasibility Study
Principal Investigator: Jacquelyn Kulinski, MD, Medicine
Housing Instability and Health among Racially and Ethnically Minoritized Wisconsin Cancer Survivors
Principal Investigator: Kirsten Beyer, PhD, MPH, MS, Institute for Health & Humanity
Multi-Organ Drug Exploration (MODE) Platform
Principal Investigator: Brian Lin, PhD, Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy
Project UPLIFT: Uniting People Living in Faith and Wellness Together
Principal Investigator: Jamila Kwarteng, PhD, MS, Institute for Health & Humanity
Quantitative Endoscopy for Airway Evaluation: A Potential Clinical Paradigm-Shifting Technology
Principal Investigator: Guilherme Garcia, PhD, Biomedical Engineering
Reducing Socioeconomic Disparities in Breast Cancer Outcomes by Centralizing Initial Treatment
Principal Investigator: Liliana Pezzin, JD, PhD, Institute for Health & Humanity
Use of Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy in Critically Ill Children with Acquired Brain Illness
Principal Investigator: Raquel Farias-Moeller, MD, Neurology
Public and Community Health
+YOU: Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth Across Wisconsin
Primary Community Organization: Courage+
Principal Investigator: Katherine Quinn, PhD, Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
Actions to Eliminate Low-Value Surgical Services and Related Health Inequities
Primary Community Organization: Wisconsin Health Information Organization, Inc.
Principal Investigator: Anai Kothari, MD, MS, FSSO, Surgery
Adaptive AI-Driven Reminders for Enhancing Mental Health Engagement Among Wisconsin Veterans
Primary Community Organization: Marquette University
Principal Investigator: Zeno Franco, PhD, Emergency Medicine
Alcohol Prevention and Policy: What Do Local Leaders Want to Know?
Primary Community Organization: University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health - Population Health Institute
Boosting Better Breathing: Supplying School Buildings with Durables that Promote Healthy Lungs
Primary Community Organization: Children's Health Alliance of Wisconsin
Principal Investigator: Christopher Simenz, PhD, Institute for Health & Humanity
Primary Community Organization: Aging and Disability Center of Washburn County
Principal Investigator: Leslie Ruffalo, PhD, Family Medicine
Collaboration to Accelerate Statewide Healthcare Disparities Improvement
Primary Community Organization: Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality Inc.
Primary Academic Partner: Katinka Hooyer, PhD, Family Medicine
Community-Based Three-Pronged Approach to Building Youth Resilience
Primary Community Organization: STRYV365
Principal Investigator: Constance Gundacker, MD, MPH, FAAP, Pediatrics
Creating a Community Clinical Network
Primary Community Organization: Children's Health Alliance of Wisconsin
Principal Investigator: Constance Gundacker, MD, MPH, FAAP, Pediatrics
Designing a Strategy for Statewide Implementation of a Public Mental Health Promotion Intervention
Primary Community Organization: Thriving Wisconsin
Primary Academic Partner: Corina Norrbom, MD, Medical School Regional Campuses
Empowering Families: Improving Health Literacy for Effective Asthma Management in Young Patients
Primary Community Organization: Lighthouse School
Principal Investigator: Christopher Simenz, PhD, Institute for Health & Humanity
Espacio Verde: Activating Community Leadership and Institutional Partners for Mental Health Equity
Primary Community Organization: Mujeres con Poder de Transformacióm Social
Principal Investigator: Courtney Barry, PsyD, MS, Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
Examining Environmental Determinants of Health in Milwaukee
Primary Community Organization: Clean Wisconsin
Principal Investigator: Christa Wagner, PhD, Institute for Health & Humanity
Lead Safe Milwaukee: A Collaborative Effort to Reduce Lead Exposure and Advance Health Equity
Primary Community Organization: Milwaukee Health Care Partnership
Principal Investigator: David Nelson, Ph.D., MS, Family Medicine
MCHS Cultural Brokers Initiative
Primary Community Organization: Marshfield Clinic Health System
Primary Academic Partner: Corina Norrbom, MD, Medical School Regional Campuses
Optimizing Prenatal/Postnatal Family Substance Use and Trauma Recovery Coaching
Primary Community Organization: Helios Heuristic
Principal Investigator: John Mantsch, PhD, Pharmacology and Toxicology
Reducing Disparities in Blood Pressure Control through Prioritizing Social Determinants of Health
Principal Investigator: Corina Norrbom, MD, Medical School Regional Campuses
Reducing Underage Drinking and Harms in Green County
Primary Community Organization: Better Brodhead Inc
Primary Academic Partner: Felice Borisy-Rudin, JD, PhD, Pharmacology and Toxicology
Wellness Screen Adult Mental Health Screening Program
Primary Community Organization: Samaritan Counseling Center of the Fox Valley (DBA Samaritan, Inc.)
Principal Investigator: Courtney Barry, PsyD, MS, Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
YCare for Sibling Caregivers of Children with Complex Medical Conditions
Primary Community Organization: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Principal Investigator: Courtney Barry, PsyD, MS, Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
Health Workforce Education and Development
Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee: Healthcare Career Workforce Access for Youth (HCWAY)
Primary Community Organization: Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee
Primary Academic Partner: C. Greer Jordan, PhD, Institute for Health & Humanity
HCET Trauma-Informed Care Training Project
Primary Community Organization: Health Care Education & Training, Inc.
Primary Academic Partner: Natalie Mironov, DO, Obstetrics & Gynecology
Improving Clinical Integration of the CHW Workforce for Sustainability
Primary Community Organization: UniteWI
Principal Investigator: C. Greer Jordan, PhD, Institute for Health & Humanity
Leading the Way: Curriculum to Prepare Future Doctors for Planetary Health Impacts
Principal Investigator: Christa Wagner, PhD, Institute for Health & Humanity
NEW Healthcare Alliance: Connecting Education with Healthcare to Build a Future Workforce
Primary Community Organization: New North, Inc.
Primary Academic Partner: Leslie Ruffalo, PhD, Family Medicine
Reclaiming Your Path Wisconsin: Veteran Peer Navigation for Mental Health Emergencies
Principal Investigator: Zeno Franco, PhD, Emergency Medicine
Restorative Justice for Wisconsin's Health Workforce
Principal Investigator: Elizabeth Ellinas, MD, MS, Anesthesiology
Student Emergency Response Team (SERT) Program
Primary Community Organization: Wisconsin HOSA, Inc.
Primary Academic Partner: Andrew Klein, MD, Radiology
The WiSER Consortium: A Community-of-Practice for STEM Retention and Workforce Development
Principal Investigator: Michaela Patterson, PhD, Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy
Wisconsin Community Doula Initiative
Primary Community Organization: Wisconsin Doulas of Color Collective
Principal Investigator: Meredith Cruz, MD, MPH, MBA, Obstetrics & Gynecology
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