Extracellular miRNAs and immune signals in serious infections and heart injury
Official title: Extracellular miRNAs, Innate Immune Signaling, and Critical Illness
Funded at University of Maryland Baltimore · NIH-11328652 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Aimed at understanding how tiny RNA molecules outside cells and immune signals influence sepsis and heart attack outcomes to improve care for patients.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Maryland Baltimore NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Baltimore, United States) |
| Project start | May 1, 2021 |
| Project end | May 31, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $427,625 |
| NIH project number | 2R35GM140822-06 |
| Project ID | NIH-11328652 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Individuals with sepsis or ischemic heart disease who could contribute samples or data for biomarker studies and translational analyses.
✕Less likely to help
The study is unlikely to provide direct therapy to participants; benefits are anticipatory through later biomarker and treatment advances.
What this research studies
This grant studies how extracellular microRNAs and the body's innate immune signals contribute to severe infections and ischemic heart injury, with the goal of finding biomarkers and targets to guide treatment. Researchers plan to compare sepsis and myocardial infarction, looking for shared pathways that drive inflammation and organ damage. The work involves analyzing human samples and animal/cell models to identify how these signals predict outcomes and respond to therapies, with results that could inform future clinical approaches.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients could benefit from earlier diagnosis, better risk stratification, and more precise treatments for sepsis and heart attack related complications.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research has shown that extracellular miRNAs and innate immune signals relate to outcomes in sepsis and myocardial injury, supporting this approach.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Maryland Baltimore
Baltimore, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Chao, Wei — University of Maryland Baltimore
- Study coordinator: Chao, Wei
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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.