Project Grant K08AI199219

Grant Award Summary

Yale University received a $192,330 Project Grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855), awarded June 11, 2026, with completion targeted for May 31, 2031. The award funds research to elucidate the causal role of intestinal microbiota in sepsis mortality, a life-threatening condition responsible for approximately 270,000 annual deaths and $38 billion in U.S. healthcare costs. The research will utilize established murine sepsis models combined with microbiota taxonomic sequencing, metagenomics, advanced bioinformatic techniques, and germ-free mouse systems to characterize microbial features and specific bacterial members that correlate with, predict, and cause sepsis outcomes.

The grant supports two primary research objectives: identifying baseline stool microbial features associated with and predictive of sepsis outcomes, and determining how colonization with immunostimulatory microbes heightens sepsis mortality. The project will holistically characterize host immunologic responses and provide scientific evidence addressing why patients with similar medical backgrounds experience vastly different sepsis outcomes despite receiving comparable medical treatment. This research is expected to advance understanding of gut dysbiosis mechanisms underlying gram-negative bacteremia and develop potential therapeutic targets to improve survival rates in sepsis patients.