Friday, January 30, 2026 |  3 minutes and 53 seconds or ~233 heartbeats  

In this week’s Vitals, we remind you of open funding opportunities and hear from Director Dr. Alicia Jackson as she marks her first 100 days with ARPA-H. But first... 

BIOGAMI: Rewriting protein “grammar” to stop neurodegenerative disease

Today, ARPA-H announced a new program that asks, What if we could detect and repair the earliest stages of protein dysfunction to eliminate neurodegenerative disease?

Why it's needed. Getting older, having certain genes, or being exposed to toxins can all cause proteins to misfold. When proteins fold the wrong way or stick together, they can form clumps (aggregates) that damage cells. This damage can lead to Alzheimer’s disease, ALS, and other chronic and degenerative conditions. Unfortunately, we don’t yet have good tools to predict, stop, or undo these early misfolding and clumping events.

The solution? ARPA-H’s new BIOmolecular Grammar for protein Aggregation Modulation and Intervention (BIOGAMI) program focuses on the very earliest steps in the misfolding process, especially in the brain and other vulnerable tissues. The program will decode the “grammar” that guides how flexible, disordered proteins behave and create new ways to steer misfolded or clumped proteins back into healthy shapes.

From the Program Manager: “Disordered proteins are like sentences without punctuation—multiple meanings can be implied depending on how the reader pauses or places emphasis,” said Program Manager (PM) Shannon Greene, Ph.D. “BIOGAMI intends to preserve the critical meaning of a protein’s sentence by applying punctuation and grammatical structure, essentially fixing protein misfolding before anything is published.”

What ARPA-H needs to solve this problem. BIOGAMI aims to combine breakthroughs in protein science with powerful computing tools, including machine learning and AI, to better understand and reshape this molecular grammar. ARPA-H expects that teams will bring together partners from biotech companies, universities, and other organizations, with expertise in biochemistry, biophysics, structural biology, neurodegenerative disease, and chronic illness.

How to engage

For more information about BIOGAMI and to register for Proposers’ Day on Feb. 20, visit the program page.

Time to ADVOCATE for the future of cardiovascular care🫀 

Last week’s Proposers’ Day for our new Agentic AI-EnableD CardioVascular CAre TransfOrmation (ADVOCATE) program was a major success! We welcomed special guest HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O'Neill, who joined ARPA-H Director Alicia Jackson, Ph.D., and PM Haider Warraich, M.D., to discuss how clinical agentic AI can provide safe and effective cardiovascular care to every American. They covered the technical intricacies of creating an AI agent to serve around-the-clock as a digital member of a patient’s clinical care team, how this technology can close healthcare gaps for rural areas, and what this means for saving lives. Check out the highlight video! 

We want to hear from you 📢 Whether or not you joined us for Proposers’ Day, you can learn more by visiting the ADVOCATE program page. Solutions summaries are due from potential performers on Feb. 27. 

Elsewhere in the ARPAsphere:

• Reminder: BoSS is accepting solution summaries 🧫 Innovators gathered yesterday for the BioStabilization Systems (BoSS) Proposers’ Day online and in Washington, D.C. And while the weather was chilly in D.C., BoSS is imagining a world where the expensive and complex “cold chain” is no longer needed to store and transport life-changing biological medicines. Potential performers have until Feb. 19 to submit their solution summaries. Check out the BoSS program page to learn more about how to get involved.

   

• 100 days of bold action 💯 In a new video, Dr. Jackson marks her first 100 days as ARPA-H Director by looking forward. “Patients don’t experience health challenges in 100-day chunks,” she says. “That’s why we continue to hit the ground running every single day.” Dr. Jackson invites innovators, clinicians, patients, and entrepreneurs across the country to help ARPA-H “push the envelope on what’s possible.” Want to help? Learn more about sharing your idea for high-impact, innovative health research or joining ARPA-H as a Program Manager. 
  
  

• A new face at ARPA-H 🩺  Yesterday, we announced that Rafid Fadul, M.D., M.B.A., has joined ARPA-H as our first Chief Medical Officer (CMO). As CMO, Dr. Fadul will serve as a critical bridge between frontier science and frontline care and work to ensure that all of ARPA-H's groundbreaking innovations have a meaningful impact on patients, providers, and payers. Meet Dr. Fadul. 

Before you go...

Stay in the loop with SAM.gov ✅ Remember, solution summary and proposal deadlines listed here and on the ARPA-H website are subject to change. Make sure you reference the latest amendments on SAM.gov for the most up-to-date information. 

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.

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.