Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The University of Illinois received a $736,822 Project Grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855), effective February 1, 2026, through January 31, 2031. The award supports basic biomedical research investigating bacterial lipases and their mechanisms of immune evasion in Staphylococcus aureus infection. The research focuses on understanding how bacterial lipases inactivate pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) through enzymatic modification of bacterial lipoproteins, with particular emphasis on the secreted lipase GEH and its tissue-specific contributions to bacterial persistence and suppression of pro-inflammatory cytokine responses.

The project represents a five-year competitive research initiative addressing critical gaps in knowledge regarding how bacterial lipases drive host immunity and physiology during infection. Research activities will be conducted at the University of Illinois Chicago campus and are expected to advance scientific understanding of infectious disease mechanisms, potentially informing future therapeutic interventions targeting bacterial virulence factors in gram-positive pathogens.