Mission: To support research and scholarship for graduate education, postdoctoral training, and early career faculty.

About

Launched in Fall 2025, the MPower Early Scholars Investment Fund is a forward-looking investment designed to protect and strengthen the next generation of researchers. This program provides targeted support for both UMB and UMCP PhD students, post-docs, and junior faculty impacted by recent cuts to research funding. In addition, this short-term, high-impact initiative is designed to sustain the scholar pipeline and protect the University of Maryland’s joint research enterprise.

Recognizing that each university has distinct needs and faces unique challenges, there are separate application processes for UMB and UMCP – as shown below.

Learn more about the UMB application. 

Learn more about the UMCP application.

MPower Early Scholars Investment Fund In the News

• UMB, UMCP Announce MPower Early Scholars Investment Fund
• $8.75M Investment Supports ‘Research Resilience’ Amid Challenging Federal Funding Environment 
• University of Maryland Announces New Research Resilience Initiatives
• UMCP, UMB Announce $7.5M MPower Early Scholars Investment Fund 
• Announcing the MPower Early Scholars Investment Fund 

Engineering and Medicine Partnership

Mission: The Engineering and Medicine partnership unites two prominent strengths at the University of Maryland to accelerate the transformation of solutions to problems in medicine and healthcare.

About

A joint, cross-disciplinary and cross-institution initiative between two University of Maryland assets — the A. James Clark School of Engineering and the University of Maryland School of Medicine – connects medicine and engineering to transform healthcare by developing solutions to problems in medicine.

Bioengineering and Medicine faculty, staff and students are now working side by side in the new Edward and Jennifer St. John Center for Translational Engineering and Medicine (CTEM) at the 4MLK Laboratory and Office building in the University of Maryland BioPark in Baltimore. In 2024, the new Center, launched with a $10 million joint gift from the Edward and Jennifer St. John and the Edward St. John Foundation, to create a unique environment for the education of students, the discovery of healthcare innovations, and the translation to patients through clinical practice.

MPower Support

Since 2012, MPower has supported numerous collaborations between Medicine and Engineering, and in January 2025, we announced a $12.75 million grant to build upon the Edward and Jennifer St. John Foundation gift. MPower’s transformational funding supports:

• Customized programming, design, and fit-out of the state-of-the-art, office/laboratory space to house CTEM
• Academic enrichment and educational programing including the development of a new BS-to-MD degree; a Joint Graduate Fellowship in Bioengineering; a Bioengineering Capstone design course; and other clinical experiences for undergraduates
• Faculty recruitment and seed funding for faculty in CTEM

Current Research Areas

Clinical

• Neuroscience
• Critical Care & Resuscitation
• Cancer
• Surgical Innovation & Trauma
• Rehabilitation

Technology

• Imaging & Photomedicine
• Artificial Intelligence
• Organoids & Lab-on-a-Chip
• Biomaterials & Drug Delivery
• Regenerative Medicine

Learn More

The VIDEO below examines the power and possibility of the BIOE/Medicine partnership.

Engineering and Medicine Partnership in the News

• The Future of Health Care
• Computer Science Major Neal Rangarajan Combines Computer Science and Medicine
• Scarcelli Promoted to Full Professor, Appointed CTEM Co-Director and Named St. John Professor 
• University of Maryland Researchers Will Test Cutting-Edge Microscope To Explore Causes of Glaucoma  
• $12.75M MPower Grant to Spur Biomedical Tech Advances in University of Maryland College Park and Baltimore Collaboration 
• Edward and Jennifer St. John Give $10M for New Center for Translational Engineering and Medicine
• University of Maryland, Baltimore and University of Maryland, College Park Announce $10 Million Joint Gift from Edward and Jennifer St. John and the Edward St. John Foundation for New Center for Translational Engineering and Medicine
• $10 Million Gift to Power Innovations for Next-Gen Care
• UMB and UMCP Announce $10 Million Joint Gift from Edward and Jennifer St. John and the Edward St. John Foundation for New Center for Translational Engineering and Medicine

Mission: Transformational MPower partnership connects top-tier computational expertise and biomedical research to build a learning health care system and improve patient care and outcomes in Maryland and beyond.

To learn more

Now available! Special supplement highlights the impact of the UM-IHC.

READ HERE

About

The University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing (UM-IHC) is a strategic initiative that aims to improve well-being, quality of life, diminish disease, and enhance health outcomes for all citizens of Maryland and beyond.

The UM-IHC merges top-tier computational expertise and biomedical research with a vast and geographically diverse clinical care network into a force for health care innovation. Funding support comes from strategic partner Montgomery County, Maryland, and from MPower.

Based in North Bethesda, UM-IHC will catalyze a clinical data science ecosystem and tap into industry and federal partners like the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Food and Drug Administration, Walter Reed Military Medical Center, and Naval Medical Research Center.

Research areas include:

• Applied AI
• Bioinformatics
• Immersive Visualization
• Real-World Evidence and Adaptive Clinical Trials
• Population Health
• Therapeutic Drug Discovery

IHC in the News 

• Viral Infections Burst Blue-Green Algae, Enriching the Ocean Surface with Nutrients
• People are losing their jobs. Why is Maryland’s top commerce official optimistic about Montgomery County? 
• UM-IHC Launches First Continuing Medical Education Course in Artificial Intelligence
• Esa Davis Elected as Member of Prestigious National Academy of Medicine
• SPOTLIGHT: Olohitare Abaku, ’26 
• UM-IHC Co-Executive Director Reflects on a Year of Innovation and Impact
• UM-IHC Participates in Invent the Future Expo
• Next Step Forward for Institute for Health Computing
• New Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Treatment Offers Hope for Patients in Advanced Stage of Disease
• Governor Moore and Metro Announce Developer Selection for North Bethesda Transit-Accessible Hub for Housing and Economic Development
• Metro selects developer for life sciences-anchored mixed-use development at North Bethesda
• “From Vision to Reality” – WMATA Selects Hines as Master Developer for North Bethesda Metro Station
• AI With Rhythm: Brain-Inspired Tech Wins 2025 Invention of the Year Award
• Heart-Healthy Lifestyles Can Also Delay Brain Aging, Researchers Find
• Tech Talk: Virtual Reality Healthcare Training at University of Maryland
• New Innovation Alliance Aims to Drive New Med Tech Ventures in Region
• MIXR Advances Six Projects to Transform XR-Based Health Care Education
• VIDEO: Medical Training—From Every Angle
• UM-IHC Researcher Receives 2025 Early Career Award in Theoretical Chemistry
• University of Maryland Team Testing Drone Delivery of Medicine
• Viewpoint: Maryland’s economy needs help. AI, quantum and data are the answer
• A New Reality for Physician Assistant Students
• From Bench to Bedside: The Impact of AI on Digital Health Care Technologies
• UM-IHC’s Goodman Part of Medicine & Law Team Creating Guide to Tackle Sex Bias in Clinical Algorithms
• Spotlight on UM-IHC’s Mathematical Epidemiologist Salihu Musa
• University of Maryland Study Links Canadian Wildfire Smoke to 20% Rise in Health Issues
• U.S. Study Links Wildfire Smoke to Spike in Doctors’ Visits in Baltimore
• Remote Exposure to Western Wildfire Smoke Causing Heart and Lung Problems Nationwide: Study
• Wildfire Smoke, Poor Air Quality Can Have an Impact on Health — Even for People Who Live Far Away
• UM-IHC Researcher Studies Adolescent Snoring and its Link to Cognitive and Behavioral Outcomes
• University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing Celebrates Second Anniversary
• UM-IHC Hosts Inaugural Lunch Lecture and Networking Event
• UM-IHC Summer Interns Develop Immersive Experiences to Train the Next Generation of Physicians
• UM-IHC Scientists ‘Cautiously Optimistic’ About AI’s Role in Drug Discovery
• MPower Strategic Initiative to Anchor Major Life Sciences, Mixed-Use Project
• Adam Porter Tapped to Co-Lead the University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing
• Governor Moore Signs Bill Securing Permanent State Funding for UM Institute for Health Computing
• Montgomery County Executive Joins Institute Leadership and Industry Partners for UM-IHC Tour
• UM Institute for Health Computing Up and Running
• New Institute Blending Health Care, AI to Take Office Space in Rockville
• New UMD Biotech Campus to Open in Montgomery County in 2023
• University of Maryland Institute to Apply AI to Health Care
• AI Center Looks to the Future of Health Care in Maryland

Watch and Listen

Explore media highlights showcasing the UM-IHC, including in-depth radio interviews and video clips:

RADIO

Study finds increased medical visits for heart and respiratory problems in Baltimore on poor air quality days from Western Canadian wildfires.

• KYW-AM (Philadelphia, PA)
• KNX-AM (Los Angeles, CA) 
• WABC-AM (New York, NY)

VIDEO

North Bethesda Metro Station redevelopment proposal announcement late July 2024.

PHOTOS

Photos from Lt. Governor Aruna Miller’s Visit to IHC in March 2024.

Mission: To recognize, enable, and foster strong collaborations between faculty who work together on the most pressing issues of our time.

Cohort 4: MPower Professors

About

The MPower Professorship recognizes, incentivizes, and fosters collaborations between faculty who are working together on the most pressing issues of our time. To be considered for the MPower Professorship, faculty must demonstrate collaboration on strategic research that would be unattainable or difficult to achieve by UMB or UMCP acting independent of one another and must embrace the mission of MPower — to collaboratively strengthen and serve the state of Maryland and its citizens.

Each professor receives $150,000, allocated over three years, to apply to their salary or to support supplemental research activities. These funds recognize, enable, and support strong collaborations between faculty in the joint research enterprise between UMCP and UMB.

To date, 27 faculty have been recognized for their significant collaborations in the fields of arts and humanities, computer science, dentistry, engineering, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and public health.

To learn more about each cohort, click on corresponding link below.

Cohorts

Cohort 1: MPower Professors

Cohort 2: MPower Professor

Cohort 3: MPower Professors

Cohort 4: MPower Professors

MPower Professors in the News

• MPower Professor Leads NIH Grant for Tick-Borne Diseases
• ‘MPowering’ Collaboration to Drive Innovation, Discovery
• University of Maryland Strategic Partnership Announces Prestigious MPower Professorships
• Two CMNS Faculty Members Named MPower Professors
• MPower Professor Advances Understanding of SARS-CoV-2’s Impact on Oral Health
• MPower Professor Reviews Book on Community Violence Intervention
• MPower Professors Honored in Ceremony
• MPower Professor Studies Influenza through Hotel Experiment
• Researcher of the Year: MPower Professor Dr. Luana Colloca
• NIH to Fund ‘Big Picture’ Look at Substance Use Treatment
• Professor, and Director, Center for Biomolecular Therapeutics at UMSOM David Weber Named Distinguished University Professor
• MPower Professor Recognized as Researcher of the Year by UMB
• Two UMSOP Faculty and Staff Members Receive National Recognition from AACP 
• UMCP Chair of the Fischell Department of Bioengineering John Fisher Named 2024 Distinguished University Professor 
• N95 Masks Nearly Perfect at Blocking COVID, UMD Study Shows
• Professor Chris Jewell Accepts New Position within Fischell Institute
• MPower Professor Named Inaugural Chair of New Department of Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health 
• The Neuroscientist Harnessing the Placebo Effect to Help Soothe Pain

Mission: To educate and serve Maryland family farmers through expert information and training that helps navigate complex legal issues such as estates and trusts, regulatory compliance farm food safety, and other aspects of agricultural law.

To learn more

ALEI provides legal education and resources to Maryland’s farm community to explain agricultural law as it evolves to keep pace with the changing realities of farmers and the agricultural industry in the 21^st century. 

Outreach

ALEI reaches the state’s agricultural community through publications, social media, trainings, and formal classroom education. ALEI leverages its MPower funding by pursuing grants to support additional programming and expansion.

Education

Undergraduate students at UMCP and law school students at UMB benefit from classes taught by legal specialists on agriculture and law. Farmer education and student involvement are key elements of the program, which through relevant law classes prepares students to become critical thinkers and utilize analysis to inspire innovation in farming, food safety, public policy, and community engagement.

MPower supports funding for the Brinsfield Internship Program, a collaboration between the Harry R. Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology and ALEI.

Summer 2025 Brinsfield Interns, Cohort 7 — Watch the video below:

Annual Agricultural and Environmental Law Conference

Pictured above L to R: Maryland State Delegate Lorig Charkoudian and Maryland State Secretary of Agriculture Kevin Atticks at the 11th annual Agricultural and Environmental Law Conference.

Each year, ALEI hosts an agricultural and environmental law conference that brings together farmers, attorneys, educators, environmentalists, producers, policymakers, and students to discuss the complex intersection of environmental regulation and agriculture in Maryland.

ALEI in the News

• VIDEO: Brinsfield Students Present 2025 Projects 
• Brinsfield Interns Team Up for Statewide Impact 
• Summer Spotlight: Brinsfield Students 
• ALEI and Brinsfield Interns Tour Maryland Food System Sites
• ALEI and UM Scholars Tour Agricultural Operations Across Maryland
• ALEI and Hughes Center Welcome 2025 Brinsfield Interns
• Agricultural & Environmental Law Conference Addresses Top Issues in Maryland
• Brinsfield Interns Present Summer Projects
• UM Agriculture Law Education Initiative Introduces 2024 UM Scholars
• The UMB Pulse Podcast – Exploring Maryland’s New Generation of Farmers with ALEI
• Making Maryland the Greenest State in the Country

Mission: To provide professionals in private, government, and not-for-profit sectors in highly regulated fields with legal and regulatory training.

To learn more

About

The Master of Science (MS) in Law is a part time, two-year online graduate degree program designed for experienced professionals to understand the laws and policies that impact their industry.  The program is designed for professionals who need a strong legal foundation but don’t intend to practice law.

The curriculum teaches dispute resolution and negotiation, legal research, legal analysis and argument, ethics in law, public policy, and provides a general knowledge of the U.S. law and legal system.

Specialties include: 

• Health Care Law
• Cybersecurity Law
• Homeland Security and Crisis Management Law

Mission: To offer students programs that showcase the robust link between engineering and human health and offer exposure to the medical field, clinical settings, and the direct application of medical devices in a hospital setting.

To learn more

About

MPower offers students multiple programs that integrate clinical practice, interdisciplinary research, and exposure to advanced medical technologies.
 

B.S. to M.D. Degree Path 

Launched in 2025, the new 8-year B.S. to M.D. is a dual-degree pathway for undergraduate students in engineering, computer science, or mathematics who aspire to careers in medicine.  By bringing the perspectives of engineers and data scientists into clinical practice, the program prepares students to transform the future of healthcare.  The degree offers early-exposure to medicine through hands-on clinical experience, structured service activities, and interdisciplinary research. The first cohort of seven students began the program in Fall 2025. Read more about the B.S. to M.D. program.

Bioengineering Capstone Design Course

UMCP undergraduates participate in a two-semester course that applies engineering principles to clinical challenges. In collaboration with faculty physicians at UMB and mentors at UMCP, students gain hands-on exposure to the application of medical technologies and design prototype solutions addressing urgent healthcare needs.  

The course culminates in a university-wide Capstone Design Expo, which expanded in 2024 to feature student-led projects from all eight Maryland Engineering departments. The annual Expo showcases innovative solutions to society’s most pressing societal challenges, judged by experts in respective fields. Read more about the 2025 Capstone Design Expo. 

MPower Graduate Fellowship

A joint PhD graduate fellowship program in Bioengineering – the MPower Graduate Fellowship – spans both institutions and offers students an opportunity to create and deliver engineering solutions to challenging, clinical problems related to medicine, pharmacy, or dentistry. 

Other Educational Programming & Clinical Experiences  

The Fischell Department of Bioengineering at UMCP’s A. James Clark School of Engineering provides rich opportunities to enhance student education and experiential learning with faculty mentors and collaborators in Baltimore.  Bioengineering faculty are co-located at the 4MLK Laboratory and Office Building on the UMB campus, alongside University of Maryland School of Medicine faculty. This intellectual environment provides outstanding educational opportunities, joint research activities, and the ability to advise graduate and undergraduate students from both universities.

Bioengineering Academic Programs in the News

• Meet Tomorrow’s Health Care Leaders (BS to MD Inaugural Cohort)
• MPower a Sponsor of 2025 Capstone Expo Showcasing 134 Engineering Solutions
• Spotlight on Graduating MPower Entrepreneurship Fellows
• Three BIOE Students Receive 2024-2025 MPower Graduate Fellowships
• VIDEO: Bioengineering Students Confront Opioid Crisis
• Bioengineering Student Team Takes Top Prize at Inaugural Capstone Design Expo
• UMCP BIOE PhD Candidate at UMSOD Awarded First Prize in 16th Annual Graduate Translational Research Competition 
• UMCP Fischell Institute Spotlights MPower Entrepreneurship Fellow
• MPower Fellow Featured on AI and Machine Learning Panel 

Mission: To give students early exposure to ideas, mentors and professional opportunities in law not normally available to undergraduates.

To learn more

About

The MLAW: Undergraduate Programs in Law offered at College Park is one of MPower’s first and now longest continuing collaborative education programs between UMCP and UMB. Launched in 2014 in response to a pressing need for pre-law programming at UMCP, MLAW gives students early exposure to ideas, mentors, and professional opportunities in law not normally available to undergraduates, and includes a Justice and Legal Thought Program (JLT) and a Law and Society minor (LSM).

Faculty from the UMCP College of Behavioral and Social Sciences and the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law teach a variety of subjects such as immigration and crime, global environmental law, health law, and structural racism and housing.

Mission: To facilitate and accelerate the development of transformative research and technology-driven advances in personalized medicine.

To learn more

About

One of MPower’s earliest investments, CHIB laid the foundation for transformative research in personalized medicine by fostering collaboration between UMCP researchers in computer science and engineering and UMB experts in genomics and clinical medicine. This joint effort provided shared academic, computing, and research infrastructure to enable interdisciplinary, cross-campus interactions.  

Mission: To develop treatments that allow greater understanding and response to the opioid epidemic in Maryland and nationwide, which will impact training, outreach, and policy.

About

MPower provided a three-year investment to launch a research collaboration matching leaders from UMB’s School of Medicine with UMCP’s Center for Substance Abuse Research and two dozen other schools and departments to seek solutions to address the opioid epidemic that kills thousands of Marylanders each year.

• Researchers study the effects of opioids in utero, so that better programs can be designed to help affected babies and their mothers.
• Newly developed curriculum trains medical students and veteran health care professionals to treat chronic pain while reducing further addiction.
• Other researchers use placebos to reduce methadone use and to study how behavioral training may allow chronic pain patients to reduce opioid intake.
• Data from overdose patients admitted to four emergency rooms are being studied to better understand opioid use in Maryland, tailor treatment, and alert public health officials to regional trends and community needs.
• A new study explores existing policies for women who are pregnant, addicted, and in the criminal justice system, and how to best treat mother and child.