Dec. 10, 2025
Pitt Urology Team Wins $3M Competition
Researchers awarded first place for their work on an implantable device that alters nerve activity to address bladder, bowel and sexual disorders.
TOPICS: Accolades and Awards
Designs on Aging-Ready
By Strategic Communications
A team from the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Urology was awarded $3 million as the first-place winner of the Neuromod Prize, a competition to accelerate the development of targeted neuromodulation therapies.
The Neuromod Prize, a $9.8 million competition, announced the Phase 3 winners Oct. 20, 2025, during a finalist showcase at the HLTH 2025 conference in Las Vegas, where teams presented their solutions to an audience of health technology leaders, innovators and investors.
Pitt’s team, led by Changfeng Tai, won with their multichannel implantable device for sacral-pudendal neuromodulation that addresses bladder, bowel and sexual disorders.
Rory Cooper, director of HERL and Distinguished Professor of Rehabilitation Engineering
Pitt’s team, led by Changfeng Tai, professor of urology and of pharmacology and chemical biology, School of Medicine, and of bioengineering, Swanson School of Engineering, won with their multichannel implantable device for sacral-pudendal neuromodulation that addresses bladder, bowel and sexual disorders.
The Neuromod Prize is an initiative from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through an NIH Common Fund program called Stimulating Peripheral Activity to Relieve Conditions. The competition aimed to advance neuromodulation solutions to bring them closer to having tangible patient impact, offering new hope to the millions of patients battling chronic or acute diseases.
This multiphase, multiyear competition challenged teams to think beyond the lab and design solutions that could make their way into clinical use—accelerating innovation as well as translation. During Phase 3, Pitt’s team advanced its neuromodulation therapy toward real-world impact, conducting an IDE-enabling study. Its winning device can be adjusted for individualized treatment, has limited or no side effects and is ready to be considered for approval in clinical use.