Federal Grant Award Summary

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill received a $790,259 Project Grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855), awarded May 8, 2026, with completion scheduled for April 30, 2031. This award funds research to identify and characterize secreted proteins, particularly proteases, produced by Giardia lamblia trophozoites as virulence factors responsible for intestinal barrier injury and growth impairment in infected children. The research will investigate whether host antibody responses to these secreted proteins can confer disease tolerance, potentially protecting children from growth faltering or enabling catch-up growth following infection.

The project delivers research outputs across three primary aims: (1) in vitro parasite-host interaction studies using intestinal epithelial cell models to characterize recombinant proteases and test whether anti-secretome antibodies mitigate cellular damage; (2) immunogenicity assessments and immunization studies in gnotobiotic and conventional murine models mimicking childhood undernutrition to evaluate protective efficacy against growth impairment; and (3) additional investigational work examining the therapeutic potential of targeting giardia secretome proteins. By elucidating mechanisms of giardia-induced growth impairment and validating antibody-mediated disease tolerance pathways, this research supports NIAID's mission to advance understanding of infectious disease pathogenesis and identify novel intervention strategies for a parasite affecting over 300 million individuals annually worldwide.