A $1.1 million grant has been awarded to a Fort Wayne medical researcher to potentially reduce brain inflammation due to stroke.

Jui-Hung “Jimmy” Yen, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology at Indiana University School of Medicine-Fort Wayne, was awarded the grant by the National Institutes of Health, the school said in a news release Tuesday.

The five-year NIH-funded project builds on previous research by Yen and funded by the American Heart Association and an Indiana University School of Medicine Research Enhancement Grant.

Fen-Lei Chang, associate dean and director of IUSM-Fort Wayne and executive committee chair of Indiana University Fort Wayne. “IU School of Medicine-Fort Wayne is a regional center focusing on neuroscience and aging research, and as Indiana University Fort Wayne continues to grow its health sciences academic and research programs, the community will benefit now and in the future.”

Yen, one of 11 neuroscience researchers at the Fort Wayne school, joined the local faculty in 2013.