A peptide-based test to identify immune causes of uveitis
Official title: Programmable Phage Display Peptidomes to Characterize Uveitis
Funded at University of California, San Francisco · NIH-11178676 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses programmable peptide libraries to find antibodies and viral markers in the eye, tears, and blood of adults with anterior uveitis to help pinpoint causes.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Francisco NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Francisco, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2024 |
| Project end | August 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $205,000 |
| NIH project number | 5R21EY036683-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11178676 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults (21+) with idiopathic anterior uveitis or suspected viral-associated anterior uveitis who can provide tear, intraocular fluid, and blood samples are the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
Children, people with non-anterior forms of uveitis, or those unwilling or unable to provide intraocular fluid samples may not qualify or benefit from this work.
What this research studies
I may be asked to give tear, intraocular fluid, and blood samples. Researchers will use large libraries of short peptides shown on harmless phages to capture antibodies and viral signals from those samples. They will read the binding patterns with high-throughput sequencing to identify possible human autoantigens or viral proteins linked to my uveitis. The team will compare results between people with idiopathic anterior uveitis and those with suspected viral-associated anterior uveitis.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could produce new tests that identify autoimmune or viral causes of uveitis so doctors can pick more targeted treatments and reduce vision loss.
How similar studies have gone: Phage-display peptidome and antibody-screening methods have found disease-related antibodies in other conditions, but applying them to intraocular fluid and tears for uveitis is a novel approach.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Doan, Thuy a — University of California, San Francisco
- Study coordinator: Doan, Thuy a
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.