Preventing organ rejection by targeting memory immune cells
Official title: Project-002
Funded at University of Chicago · NIH-11528790 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Working to help people with organ transplants keep their new organs without lifelong immune-suppressing drugs by targeting stubborn memory immune cells.
Quick facts
| Grant type | P01 program project |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Chicago NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chicago, United States) |
| Project start | July 17, 2012 |
| Project end | April 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $1,141,324 |
| NIH project number | 5P01AI097113-14 |
| Project ID | NIH-11528790 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people who have received or are awaiting organ transplants, especially those who are sensitized or have prior immune activation against donor tissue.
✕Less likely to help
People without organ transplants or whose graft problems come from surgical, vascular, or other non-immune causes are unlikely to benefit directly from this work.
What this research studies
As a transplant patient, you should know researchers are studying why some people's immune systems keep attacking new organs even when standard treatments are used. They focus on 'memory' T cells that remember past exposures and on a process called linked sensitization that spreads this resistance. The team uses laboratory experiments, animal models, and analysis of immune cells to see how these memory cells avoid the signals that normally put immune responses to sleep. Their aim is to find ways to block or reprogram these cells so more transplant recipients might stop taking long-term immunosuppression.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reduce the need for lifelong immunosuppressive drugs and lower the risk of organ rejection.
How similar studies have gone: Some small clinical approaches like combined stem cell–organ transplants or careful drug withdrawal have achieved tolerance in a few patients, but memory T cells remain a major unresolved barrier.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Chicago
Chicago, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Alegre, Maria-Luisa — University of Chicago
- Study coordinator: Alegre, Maria-Luisa
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Education and violence: Can high-dosage tutoring reduce youth violence
A large study in Chicago schools will test whether high-dosage tutoring for students can lessen youth violence by improving learning and outcomes.
-
Cognitive SuperAging: Exploring why some octogenarians stay sharp in memory
This NIH grant studies why a small group of people aged 80+ keep memory skills as good as much younger people, hoping to understand how to protect memory as we age.
-
Lens proteins, cell stress, and cataracts in kids and adults
A study aims to understand how lens proteins and cellular stress contribute to cataracts, in both humans and mice, with the goal of guiding prevention or treatment.
-
Understanding how neurons keep their identity and function for life
Scientists are studying how nerve cells maintain their distinctive identity and function from development through aging, using human-derived neurons and a simple worm model to uncover the long-term control of brain cell behavior.
-
Cardiac Sarcomere Protein Quality Control in Health and Disease
A heart-focused study looking at how heart muscle proteins get misfolded and how the cell’s cleanup system might fix this to protect heart function.
-
Communication Bridge: Improving language therapy for people with primary progressive aphasia
A proven language-therapy program called Communication Bridge helps people with primary progressive aphasia improve and maintain how they communicate with others.
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.