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Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health

Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health

Federal research agency

Appears in 4 stories

Stories

ARPA-H launches SPECTRA, an AI-driven initiative to transform autism diagnosis

New Capabilities

Administering SPECTRA program

Autism diagnosis has relied for decades on behavioral observation by specialists. ARPA-H, the federal advanced research agency, launched SPECTRA on September 17 to replace that model with objective biological data and artificial intelligence.

Updated 7 days ago

ARPA-H funds three teams to store cell therapies at room temperature

New Capabilities

Program sponsor

A single dose of a cell therapy can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and a delayed shipment or a failed freezer can destroy it. The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), the U.S. agency that funds high-risk medical research, is spending up to $87 million to remove that fragility.

Updated Oct 5

Federal psychedelic therapy policy shifts from prohibition to expedited research

Rule Changes

Designated to administer $50 million in psychedelic research funding, matched by state investments

For 55 years, the federal government classified psilocybin, MDMA, LSD, and ibogaine as Schedule I substances. On April 18, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order 'Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness' directing the FDA to expedite clinical trials of those substances for PTSD in veterans.

Updated May 31

The 34-year retreat of cancer death rates

New Capabilities

Investing over $500 million in cancer-related projects

Cancer death rates in the United States peaked in 1991 at 215 deaths per 100,000 people and have since fallen 34%, averting an estimated 4.5 million deaths. The decline accelerated from about 1% annually in the 1990s to 2% annually by 2015-2020, driven by plummeting smoking rates, earlier detection through screening, and advances in targeted therapies and immunotherapy.

Updated May 22