Finding biomarkers and causes of dangerous antibiotic reactions
Official title: An integrative approach to identify biomarkers and investigate mechanisms of adverse drug reactions
Funded at Children's Mercy Hosp (Kansas City, Mo) · NIH-11327250 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project aims to find biological signs that show who is at risk for severe, life-threatening reactions to the common antibiotic trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX).
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Children's Mercy Hosp (Kansas City, Mo) NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Kansas City, United States) |
| Project start | May 5, 2025 |
| Project end | February 28, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $418,919 |
| NIH project number | 5R35GM156410-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11327250 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people who have had severe or unexplained adverse reactions to TMP-SMX or healthy volunteers willing to provide blood or tissue samples for comparison.
✕Less likely to help
People who have never taken TMP-SMX or whose reactions are clearly due to non-immune causes are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
What this research studies
From a patient's view, researchers will focus on severe, unpredictable reactions to the commonly used antibiotic TMP-SMX and look for biological markers that signal risk. They will combine genetic testing including HLA typing, chemical analyses of drug metabolites and protein adducts, and immune-cell experiments using blood and tissue samples. The team will build an integrated platform linking patient genetics, drug chemistry, and immune activation to pinpoint mechanisms and possible predictive markers. The work uses patient-derived samples and laboratory assays to better understand how drug metabolites might trigger immune responses that cause injury.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could enable tests that predict who is likely to have dangerous antibiotic reactions and help clinicians avoid harmful drugs.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies have linked specific HLA genes to some drug reactions, but combining metabolite chemistry with immune assays to find predictive biomarkers is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
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Children's Mercy Hosp (Kansas City, Mo)
Kansas City, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Goldman, Jennifer Lynn — Children's Mercy Hosp (Kansas City, Mo)
- Study coordinator: Goldman, Jennifer Lynn
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.