Federal Project Grant Award Summary

Northwestern University received a $240,000 Project Grant award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855), effective July 2, 2026 through June 30, 2028. The award funds research investigating the pathogenic potential of the OX40/OX40 ligand (OX40L) pathway in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), a prevalent inflammatory condition affecting up to 12 percent of Americans and driving over 400,000 surgical procedures annually. The research aims to establish the OX40/OX40L axis as a potential therapeutic target for CRS patients with non-T2 and mixed T2+T3 inflammatory endotypes, populations currently lacking targeted biologic treatment options despite the success of T2-specific therapeutics such as dupilumab in select patient populations.

The project delivers fundamental and translational research products examining how the OX40/OX40L costimulatory immune checkpoint pathway regulates effector and memory T cell activity across multiple inflammatory pathways including TH1, TH2, and TH17 responses. By identifying therapeutic approaches for CRS with non-T2 and mixed inflammation endotypes, the research addresses an urgent clinical need for patients experiencing severe disease phenotypes, post-operative recurrence, and limited treatment response to existing biologics. This work supports the NIAID mission to advance biomedical research on allergic and immunologic diseases through innovative investigation of novel therapeutic targets.