Project Grant R01DK148600

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases awarded the University of Pittsburgh $530,328 on September 1, 2026, under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847) to investigate biofilm-host defense mechanisms in diabetic wound healing.

The research addresses how Staphylococcus aureus biofilm infections impair wound macrophage function, leading to chronic inflammation and poor healing outcomes in diabetic foot ulcers. The project examines mechanisms by which biofilm-exposed macrophages acquire a dysfunctional phenotype (macrophages with high MARCO and PLIN2 expression) that compromises efferocytosis—the clearance of apoptotic cells—and perpetuates persistent infection. Two specific aims are proposed: determining how biofilm infection impairs wound macrophage efferocytosis and chronic inflammation in diabetic wounds, and testing the significance of biofilm-induced macrophage dysfunction in wound healing failure. The work builds on preliminary findings using single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomics showing abundant biofilm-responsive macrophages in human chronic wounds with biofilm infection.

Performance occurs in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The award runs through May 31, 2031. This is a Project Grant, the standard mechanism under which NIH supports individual investigator-initiated research in basic and clinical biomedical sciences.