Project Grant R01ES037308

Grant Award Summary

The University of Michigan received a $771,168 Project Grant award, effective April 1, 2026, through the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Environmental Health program (CFDA 93.113) to conduct a five-year research initiative examining the interplay between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and T cell epigenetics in autoimmunity and lupus. The research leverages two complementary population-based cohorts—the Michigan Lupus Epidemiology & Surveillance (MILES) Program and the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN)—to interrogate relationships between PFAS exposures, immune dysregulation, and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) development and progression. The primary deliverables include epidemiological and mechanistic analyses examining how environmental PFAS exposure contributes to epigenetic alterations in T cell DNA methylation that increase propensity for lupus development, with particular emphasis on understanding disease etiology in female populations and racial and ethnic groups disproportionately affected by SLE.

This research directly aligns with NIEHS' mission to identify how environmental exposures affect biological systems and translate that knowledge into disease prevention and health promotion strategies. The project addresses a critical public health gap by investigating the contributions of persistent environmental contaminants to autoimmune disease development, which collectively rank among the leading causes of mortality in adult females. Findings are expected to inform prevention and control efforts by establishing causal mechanisms linking chronic, low-dose PFAS exposures to autoimmune pathogenesis.