Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) awarded The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York a Project Grant of $3,144,408 under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855), effective February 6, 2026 through January 31, 2030. This award funds research investigating regulatory T cell (Treg) memory in human tissues, with particular focus on understanding how antigen-specific Tregs establish tolerance and maintain tissue homeostasis in response to viral pathogens including SARS-CoV-2, influenza, and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). The research leverages Columbia's established organ donor tissue resource to profile and characterize memory T cell responses across diverse human tissues and anatomical sites.

The grant supports three primary research aims: determining the role of antigen and tissue environment in memory Treg induction; defining clonal and migratory relationships between memory Tregs and other memory T cell subsets; and elucidating functional and spatial interactions between tissue Tregs and immune and structural cells. Key anticipated products include characterization of tissue-specific Treg activation programs, identification of novel Treg-derived cytokines and activation markers, mapping of clonal relationships between Treg and effector memory T cell populations across tissues, and mechanistic insights into how tissue-resident memory Tregs regulate immune responses—all contributing to advancing understanding of human immunomodulatory responses and potential therapeutic applications for managing inflammatory and infectious diseases.