Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) awarded the University of Maryland, College Park $722,262 through the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) to support research on antigen-specific tolerance strategies for autoimmune diseases. The project, initiated February 19, 2026, and scheduled for completion January 31, 2031, focuses on developing a microneedle array delivery system designed to guide innate immune signaling in skin tissue. The research aims to co-deliver self-peptides and tolerizing immune signals to selectively promote regulatory T cell (Treg) populations that combat autoimmune conditions such as multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes, while maintaining normal immune system function—an approach intended to overcome limitations of existing immunosuppressive therapies that lack disease specificity and carry significant side effects.

The project addresses a critical gap in autoimmune disease treatment by investigating how suppressing excess toll-like receptor signaling during antigen presentation in lymph nodes can facilitate the generation of large populations of antigen-specific Tregs. This targeted immunomodulation strategy represents a vaccine-like therapeutic approach with potential for durable, long-term tolerance without broad immunosuppression. Research outputs will contribute fundamental scientific knowledge regarding mechanisms of tolerance induction and the feasibility of translating microneedle-based delivery systems into clinical applications for autoimmune disease management.