Project Grant R01AI201347

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases awarded The General Hospital Corporation (Massachusetts General Hospital) $766,498 under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) on August 3, 2026.

The award funds investigator-initiated research examining controlled self-reactive T cell responses in endometrial tissue physiology and reproduction. The research will determine whether endometrial T cell activation is locally driven by self-antigens, define how T cells coordinate endometrial turnover through communication with eosinophils using high-resolution tissue imaging and in vivo mouse models, and evaluate the consequences of dysregulated endometrial T cell responses on reproductive physiology and fitness. The study challenges the prevailing understanding that hormonal fluctuations alone drive the cyclic breakdown of the uterine endometrial layer, proposing instead that tightly controlled self-reactive T cells provide beneficial roles in supporting tissue-specific physiological processes.

Performance occurs in Boston, Massachusetts from the award date through July 31, 2031. Massachusetts General Hospital's Research Management Division, a nonprofit academic medical center and Harvard Medical School teaching hospital, receives the award as the prime recipient.