The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases awarded the Regents of the University of Michigan $616,132 on August 1, 2026, under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847) to develop nanocarrier-based immunotherapeutic strategies for type-1 diabetes treatment.
The research targets immune tolerance induction against type-1 diabetes through biomaterial nanocarriers designed for lymph node targeting, a key site for immune modulation. The work builds on preliminary murine model studies demonstrating that the approach induces robust, antigen-specific immune tolerance. The project aims to advance targeted delivery of type-1 diabetes antigens to achieve sustained immune tolerance, with deliverables including both fundamental understanding of biology-biomaterials interfaces and development of a potential long-term therapeutic strategy addressing the absence of curative treatments for the disease.
Work is performed at Ann Arbor, Michigan, with a period of performance from August 1, 2026, through June 30, 2031. The assistance type is a Project Grant.