Federal Project Grant Award Summary

Award Details: Dartmouth College received a $630,677 Project Grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855). The award, obligated on February 2, 2026, supports a five-year research project extending through January 31, 2031, with performance conducted at the Hanover, New Hampshire campus.

Research Products and Services: The grant funds biomedical research investigating the mechanisms by which Aspergillus fumigatus persists within alveolar macrophages to drive chronic aspergillosis, with particular emphasis on allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) in individuals with cystic fibrosis. Working in collaboration with the Dartmouth Cystic Fibrosis Research Center, the research team will develop and utilize a novel ABPA murine model to examine both fungal and host factors enabling long-term fungal persistence. Specific research activities include identifying fungal-intrinsic pathways supporting Aspergillus fumigatus survival within lung-resident macrophages and evaluating whether clinical isolates from cystic fibrosis patients demonstrate selection of these persistence pathways, alongside investigation of host immune pathways within alveolar macrophages that influence susceptibility to fungal colonization and disease progression.