Friday, April 3, 2026 | 3 minutes and 26 seconds or ~206 heartbeats
In this week’s Vitals, we sense your excitement for our new Delphi biosensors program and demystify ARPA-H's “Other Transaction” funding mechanism. But first...
New $144 million program to combat toxic microplastics in the human body 🔬
Yesterday, ARPA-H announced the Systematic Targeting Of MicroPlastics (STOMP), a nationwide $144 million program to create the definitive toolbox for measuring, researching, and affordably removing microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs) in the human body. STOMP will be led by Program Managers (PMs) Ileana Hancu, Ph.D., and Shannon Greene, Ph.D.
The program was announced at a special event co-hosted with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These agencies stressed the importance of innovative science across medical and environmental fields to protect Americans from potential harm from these substances.
Why it's needed. Plastic from our food, air, and water is accumulating in the human body. Researchers have detected microplastics in lungs, arterial plaques, and brain. Animal studies show this causes disease; in human studies, the data show a high correlation. Yet to date, we are still remarkably in the dark. We don’t have a precise way to measure microplastics in our organs, nor do we understand which ones are affecting us in what ways—because each plastic works differently. We can’t clear what we can’t measure, and we can’t develop interventions that are precise, safe and effective for impacts we don’t understand.
ARPA-H Director Alicia Jackson, Ph.D., introduces STOMP at an HHS/EPA event alongside EPA leaders and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
The solution? The STOMP program will focus on three technical areas across two phases: measurement and mechanism (phase one), and removal (phase two). During the first phase, STOMP performers will design experiments to understand microplastics within the human body. They will also develop gold-standard microplastics measurement methods, including a clinical test that will quantify individual microplastic burden, thus making monitoring and intervention possible at scale. Removal is the focus in phase two and where the earlier work proves indispensable. Different microplastics accumulate in different organs, cross different cellular barriers and disrupt different biological pathways. Only by knowing which types cause the most harm, where they concentrate and how they move through the body can we design interventions that are precise, safe and effective.
From the Director: “Microplastics are in every organ we look at—in ourselves and in our children. But we don’t know which ones are harmful or how to remove them,” said Alicia Jackson, Ph.D., ARPA-H Director. “Nobody wants unknown particles accumulating in their body. The field is working in the dark. STOMP is turning on the lights.”
How to engage
For more information about STOMP and to register for the hybrid Proposers’ Day on April 22, visit the program page.
Delphi proposers imagine next-gen biosensors in Tempe, Arizona 🏜️
What’s hotter than the Sonoran Desert sun? All the buzz about biosensors at Delphi Proposers’ Day! While braving a dry-heat high of 99°F, the Delphi team put out a call for proposers to develop “dry” chiplets, “wet” chiplets, and advanced biocompatible packaging. The ultimate goal? Discreet, low-cost wearable devices that can continuously track deep biological information—from hormones to inflammatory markers to therapeutic drug levels.
Our funding vehicles move fast 🏎️ ARPA-H is all about delivering transformative health impacts to the American public in years, not decades. That speed takes a funding mechanism more nimble than traditional grants. Our latest ARPA-H 101 resource tells you everything you need to know about “Other Transactions” (OTs), the unique federal contracts our agency uses to fund research and prototype development.
TRANSFORMing a promising drug delivery method🧫 Tiny, naturally occurring particles called extracellular vesicles (EVs) demonstrate an incredible ability to safely deliver critical therapeutic proteins and other large, complex medicines. Unfortunately, they are expensive and slow to produce. A new ARPA-H project, TRANSFORM EV, aims to make EV manufacturing more efficient so this promising technology can reach more people. Learn more.
Scaling AI to deliver real health impacts↗️ During HIMSS26, PM Haider Warraich, M.D., underscored the tension in clinical AI: systems that rely fully on human oversight “won’t be able to scale,” yet “a system that has no human oversight would be unacceptable.” That’s why ARPA-H's ADVOCATE program is taking a hybrid approach—pairing clinical AI agents for cardiovascular disease with a supervisory agent to optimize oversight and sustain safety. Hear more about the approach from Dr. Haider in his Q&A with Healthcare IT News.
Before you go...
Don’t miss a minute of our Dallas trip 🤠 ARPA-H leadership is headed to the Lone Star State next week to connect with Dallas-area innovators and discuss the next big ideas that will transform the future of health. Follow us on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and Facebook to see where we stop and what we learn!
You received this email because you expressed an interest in ARPA-H. If you are not interested in receiving intermittent emails with ARPA-H news and events, please unsubscribe below.
Was this newsletter forwarded to you?Sign up here to receive weekly updates.
Connect with us.
Interested in leading biomedical research that could change the world? Learn more at arpa-h.gov.
Note: HubSpot may collect geolocation data and time zone; IP address, time, and date of signup and opt-in confirmation.
ARPA-H, 1301 K St., 1200W, Washington, DC 20005, United States
