Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill received a $753,256 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 1, 2026, with a completion date of May 31, 2031. This research initiative aims to accelerate vaccine development for Chlamydia trachomatis by identifying robust molecular biomarkers predictive of protection and establishing an improved mouse model that more accurately recapitulates human infection patterns. The grant supports investigations into cervical transcriptional immune responses to chlamydial infection and challenge across multiple mouse groups—naive, infection-immune, and vaccinated populations—utilizing biobanked cervical swabs to correlate early transcriptional responses with infection and disease outcomes.

The research deliverables include development of validated early correlates of protection through profiling of immune biomarkers and establishment of an enhanced C. muridarum mouse genital tract model that addresses current limitations in vaccine testing, specifically prolonged infection chronicity and pathological changes more representative of human disease. These products will provide vaccine developers with easily quantified, early predictive markers and an improved preclinical testing platform to refine and advance T-cell-focused vaccine candidates for this globally impactful sexually transmitted pathogen for which no vaccine currently exists.