Oklahoma ACE: Targeting autoimmune disease biology to improve clinical trial success
Official title: Oklahoma ACE: Molecular Destruction of Autoimmune Disease to Aid Clinical Trail Success
Funded at Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation · NIH-11330633 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A new NIH grant aims to understand autoimmune diseases better by linking patient data with lab studies to design smarter trials and treatments.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Oklahoma City, United States) |
| Project start | May 1, 2019 |
| Project end | April 30, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $767,250 |
| NIH project number | 5UM1AI144292-08 |
| Project ID | NIH-11330633 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with autoimmune diseases, particularly SLE (systemic lupus erythematosus), who have biomarker profiles suggesting EBV involvement and interferon pathway activity.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without autoimmune disease or without the specific biomarker signals may not benefit from these approaches.
What this research studies
This project brings clinicians, scientists, and patients together to study how autoimmune diseases develop and flare, using collaborative, real-world data and laboratory analyses. It focuses on the role of EBV reactivation and interferon pathways in diseases like lupus, with a clinical trial design that temporarily uses steroids to optimize biomarker-guided treatment choices. Partnered mechanistic studies will look at how EBV activity affects autoantibody production and immune cell behavior in patients. By building patient cohorts and advancing trial designs, the work seeks to tailor therapies to individual molecular profiles and improve trial success.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients could experience more effective, personalized treatments and more reliable autoimmune trial outcomes.
How similar studies have gone: Previous ACE work has advanced understanding of autoimmune biology and contributed to multiple trials, supporting potential benefits of this approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
Oklahoma City, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: James, Judith a — Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
- Study coordinator: James, Judith a
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.