In the pursuit of supporting excellence in research, discovery and commercialization, the Office for Research and Innovation at The University of Texas at San Antonio is investing in 26 faculty members across seven academic colleges for the 2026 fiscal year.
The seed grants totaling over $440,000 are designed to fuel innovation and support interdisciplinary teams.
Known as Internal Funding Opportunities, the grants also give faculty the early data they need to compete for larger national awards and adapt to support strategic initiatives and encourage collaboration between faculty and with external partners.
See the full list of grant awardees here.
“Seed grants play a vital role in advancing faculty research and expanding their capabilities,” said Siobhan Fleming, assistant vice president for strategic research initiatives. “As a Tier One research university, UT San Antonio is committed to fostering high-quality, innovative research. We are proud to support our faculty through these targeted programs, which help propel their work forward and contribute to their overall career growth.”
With individual awards ranging between $5,000 and $50,000, faculty from an array of disciplines will use the seed grants to further drive their research in new and innovative directions.
In the College of Education and Human Development, Marissa Munoz, an assistant professor in the department of interdisciplinary learning and teaching, plans to use funds to create a public, educational project and website honoring Texas’ existing Native and Indigenous Communities. The funds are coming from the Grant for Research Advancement and Transformation (GREAT) program.
In the College of Sciences, two professors are using their Transdisciplinary Teams (T2) award to explore how psychostimulants influence tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) signaling in the brain and assess its potential for reducing cocaine use disorder (CUD) behaviors.
The professors are Matthew Wanat, associate professor of neuroscience, developmental and regenerative biology, and Thomas Forsthuber, professor of molecular microbiology and immunology.
“What makes our Internal Funding Opportunities unique is the broad range of faculty we are able to support and the collaborative partnerships that emerge throughout the process,” Fleming explained.
Three cyclical programs hosted by the Office for Research and Innovation support UT San Antonio faculty. The office also leads two partnership programs that build bridges to advance transdisciplinary and collaborative research with the Southwest Research Institute and Tecnologico de Monterrey.
