Federal Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) awarded the University of Texas at Dallas $458,364 under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) for a two-year project period beginning April 1, 2026 and concluding March 31, 2028. This Project Grant supports fundamental biomedical research investigating the characterization and functional role of basophils—rare immune cells comprising less than 1% of circulating white blood cells—in urinary tract infection (UTI) immunity and pathogenesis.

The research deliverables include comprehensive analysis of basophil dynamics in bladder tissue before and after uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) infection through flow cytometry and microscopy imaging; comparative immunological assessment of wild-type and genetically ablated basophil mouse models to quantify bacterial colony-forming units and immune cell populations at key infection timepoints; examination of basophil localization in human UTI patient bladder tissues in collaboration with University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; and bulk RNA sequencing analysis of bladder tissue gene expression in basophil-ablated versus control specimens. These investigations are designed to establish basophils' mechanistic contributions to Type 2 immunity in the bladder and their regulatory effects on anti-UPEC immune responses, with potential implications for understanding UTI pathogenesis and identifying novel therapeutic targets.