Federal Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) awarded the University of Pennsylvania a $843,568 Project Grant under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) for research examining the mechanistic roles of bitter taste receptors in chronic rhinosinusitis pathogenesis and treatment. The award, effective June 1, 2026 through May 31, 2031, supports investigator-initiated biomedical research to establish and expand scientific understanding of how bitter taste receptors—specifically G-protein coupled receptors expressed in nasal epithelial cells—regulate airway host defense, inflammatory responses, and antimicrobial mechanisms relevant to this prevalent upper airway disease affecting over 10 percent of the U.S. population.

The project delivers novel research findings and therapeutic insights by developing humanized mouse models expressing selected human bitter taste receptors and conducting functional studies using air-liquid interface cultures and ex vivo tissue explants. The research addresses critical gaps in the field by overcoming limitations of previous in vitro systems and functional orthology challenges between human and animal models, with the goal of identifying mechanism-based therapeutic targets for patients with chronic rhinosinusitis who fail to achieve lasting relief through current aggressive medical and surgical interventions.