Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The University of Pittsburgh received a $162,000 Project Grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) for the period April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2028. The award supports investigator-initiated biomedical research examining how environmental stress-induced adaptive immune responses impact tissue physiology and tumorigenesis. The research focuses on understanding the recruitment, retention, and functional mechanisms of endogenous retroelement-specific CD8 T cells in skin tissue following environmental stressors such as detergent exposure, with particular attention to how these immune responses promote wound repair and may contribute to tumor development.

The research employs three mouse model systems—parabiosis, flank punch biopsy, and transplantable cutaneous melanoma—to investigate the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying stress-induced immune responses in skin. The project addresses significant public health concerns, including the estimated 6.5 million Americans suffering from chronic non-healing skin wounds and the high prevalence of skin cancer in the United States. By elucidating the relationship between environmental exposure, immune cell biology, and tissue repair versus tumorigenesis pathways, this research is intended to generate scientific knowledge that may inform therapeutic approaches to both wound healing and cancer prevention.