Home-based monitoring of environmental exposures and biology for autoimmune diseases
Official title: Remote Exposome Monitoring for Autoimmune Diseases
Funded at University of California, San Francisco · NIH-11363408 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project develops ways for people with autoimmune conditions to collect environmental and biological data at home so researchers can link exposures to health changes over time.
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 18, 2023 |
| Project end | August 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $246,000 |
| NIH project number | 3R21AR084041-01S2 |
| Project ID | NIH-11363408 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people with diagnosed autoimmune diseases who can receive kits at home, provide small biological samples, and share health information remotely.
✕Less likely to help
People without autoimmune conditions, those unable to use mail-in kits or lacking internet/phone access, or those needing immediate clinical treatment are unlikely to benefit directly from participating.
What this research studies
As someone with an autoimmune condition, you would use mailed kits and remote sensors to capture your local environment (air, allergens, pollution) and provide small biological samples over time. The research team will run advanced -omics tests on those home-collected samples to look for patterns that relate exposures to disease activity or flares. By relying on remote, at-home methods instead of frequent clinic visits, the project aims to include people who live far from academic centers and to collect data more often. The work will produce tools and protocols to support larger future studies of the exposome in autoimmune disease.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could make research more inclusive and reveal environmental triggers that help prevent or better manage autoimmune flares.
How similar studies have gone: Remote monitoring and wearable sensors have been used successfully in other conditions, but combining frequent home sampling with longitudinal -omics in autoimmune disease is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Liao, Wilson — University of California, San Francisco
- Study coordinator: Liao, Wilson
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Unified and fair multimodal learning for autoimmune diseases
A patient-friendly AI approach will combine many kinds of health data to improve diagnosis and personalized care for autoimmune diseases, including lupus.
-
Fair combined medical-data models for autoimmune diseases
A new computer model will learn from medical records, tests, scans, genetics, and wearable data to help spot autoimmune diseases earlier in people with symptoms or at higher risk.
-
Non-immunosuppressive, targeted immune therapies for autoimmune diseases
Aims to develop targeted treatments that selectively remove disease-causing B cells in autoimmune conditions like pemphigus vulgaris without broadly weakening the immune system.
-
Targeting a specific prolactin receptor form to help people with autoimmune diseases and B-cell cancers
A scientist is testing a new approach that targets a particular prolactin receptor to potentially treat autoimmune diseases and certain B-cell cancers.
-
Understanding B cell Behavior in SLE and Other Autoimmune Diseases
Researchers are studying how B cells and their epigenetic marks behave in people with autoimmune diseases like SLE to find new ways to treat these conditions.
-
Regulation of B cell Responses in SLE and Other Autoimmune Diseases
A largescale NIH grant is studying how specific B cell types drive autoimmune diseases like lupus, with the aim of improving treatments for people affected by these conditions.
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.