Federal Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855), awarded University of Massachusetts Medical School a Project Grant of $251,250 effective July 1, 2026, with completion targeted for June 30, 2028. The award funds basic biomedical research to define the immunological mechanisms underlying Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), a multifactorial autoimmune disease affecting 1.5 million Americans. Specifically, the research will develop and validate novel experimental models to characterize the interferon-Macrophage Associated Receptor with Collagenous Structure (MARCO) signaling axis and elucidate how suppression of MARCO on tissue resident macrophages promotes SLE manifestations.

The project delivers fundamental research outputs addressing unresolved gaps in understanding how tissue resident macrophages regulate the onset and resolution of inflammation in SLE. Research activities will define immunological crosstalk between interferons and tissue resident macrophages and unravel the signaling events that orchestrate the IFN-MARCO pathway. These investigator-initiated research products advance scientific knowledge of innate immune checkpoint mechanisms relevant to autoimmune disease pathogenesis and may inform future therapeutic interventions targeting macrophage function in SLE management.