Federal Grant Award Summary

Case Western Reserve University received a $165,240 Project Grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855), awarded April 1, 2026, with a completion date of March 31, 2031. This five-year mentored research and career development award supports Dr. Devashis Mukherjee's investigation into the role of myeloid Kruppel-like factor 2 (KLF2) in the pathogenesis of dysregulated innate immune responses in preterm neonatal sepsis. The research addresses the critical public health challenge of gram-negative sepsis in preterm infants, which demonstrates a 50% mortality rate despite timely antimicrobial treatment.

Under this award, Dr. Mukherjee will conduct integrated murine genetic modeling and human translational studies to elucidate how decreased KLF2 expression in myeloid cells elevates pro-inflammatory signaling through NLRP3 pathways and increases circulating aged, pro-inflammatory neutrophils. The two specific research aims include investigating how decreased KLF2 affects neonatal neutrophil responses to gram-negative sepsis through increased NLRP3 signaling, and determining how early postnatal KLF2 reduction leads to persistence of aged circulating neutrophils via cortical actin reorganization. Dr. Mukherjee will conduct this research at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, under the mentorship of renowned immunologists Dr. Alex Huang and Dr. George Dubyak.