CFI Investigators Receive New NIH Research Awards
The Center for Immunology (CFI) is pleased to highlight new NIH-supported research awards to CFI faculty investigating fundamental mechanisms of immunity, inflammation, and neurodegenerative disease.
Monica Campo Receives NIH R01 Award to Study Human Airway Macrophage Immunity in Tuberculosis
CFI faculty member Monica Campo has been awarded a new NIH/NIAID R01 grant for her project, Human Airway Macrophage Immunity in Tuberculosis: Defining Early Determinants of Infection.
Dr. Campo’s research focuses on understanding how the immune system responds during the earliest stages of tuberculosis infection. Her laboratory studies human airway macrophages, specialized immune cells that serve as one of the body’s first lines of defense in the lung, and how distinct macrophage states influence susceptibility or resistance to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.
The newly funded study will investigate interferon-enriched macrophage populations and define how these unique immune cell states regulate host defense against tuberculosis. Using functional immune assays together with advanced single-cell multiomic approaches, the project aims to uncover the mechanisms by which specific macrophage populations control infection and shape disease outcomes.
The study is currently underway, with participant recruitment expected to begin this summer.
Carla Rothlin Receives Two NIH Awards Supporting Research in Neurodegeneration and Retinal Disease
CFI Director Carla Rothlin has received two new NIH awards supporting research focused on inflammatory regulation and tissue homeostasis in neurodegenerative and retinal disease.
Dr. Rothlin’s laboratory studies how the immune system maintains tissue health and resolves inflammation, with particular emphasis on the TAM receptor family, including AXL and MERTK. Her research examines how dysregulation of these pathways contributes to chronic inflammation, neurodegeneration, and impaired tissue repair.
The National Institute on Aging (NIA) has awarded Dr. Rothlin a one-year grant for the project, Augmenting AXL and MERTK function to restrain cognitive decline and improve health span in mouse models of Alzheimer’s Disease.
This work will investigate how enhancing signaling through the microglial receptors AXL and MERTK may help limit inflammation-associated cognitive decline and improve health span in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease. Microglia are specialized immune cells of the central nervous system that play essential roles in maintaining brain homeostasis and responding to injury and disease.
In addition, the National Eye Institute (NEI) has awarded Dr. Rothlin a one-year grant for Inflammation in MERTK-dependent retinitis pigmentosa.
This project will examine inflammatory mechanisms associated with retinitis pigmentosa linked to MERTK dysfunction. The research aims to better understand how immune signaling contributes to retinal degeneration and vision loss, with the long-term goal of identifying pathways that may be therapeutically targeted to preserve retinal health.
These awards further highlight the breadth of research within the Center for Immunology and the continued impact of CFI investigators in advancing discoveries across infectious disease, neuroimmunology, and inflammatory biology.
