Type I interferon and treatment response in rheumatoid arthritis
Official title: Type I interferon Impacts Treatment Response in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Funded at Hospital for Special Surgery · NIH-11369114 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A doctor-scientist team is studying how a specific immune signal, type I interferon, affects which rheumatoid arthritis treatments work best for patients.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Career grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Hospital for Special Surgery NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | July 1, 2022 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $197,640 |
| NIH project number | 5K08AI166075-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11369114 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
RA patients who are candidates for TNFi therapy and have pre-treatment blood samples available for analysis.
✕Less likely to help
Patients not considered for TNFi or without access to pre-treatment biomarker testing may not directly benefit.
What this research studies
Rheumatoid arthritis varies a lot in how people respond to TNF inhibitors, and we currently lack good predictors of who will benefit. This grant investigates whether the balance of type I interferon activity before starting therapy can predict non-response, using patient samples and single-cell analyses to understand immune cell behavior. The research aims to connect blood signaling with what happens in the joints, potentially guiding personalized treatment choices in the future. If successful, it could help patients avoid ineffective therapies and reduce time to effective care.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Better ability to predict which RA patients will respond to TNFi therapy, leading to more personalized and timely treatment choices.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies showed that pre-treatment IFN activity ratios can predict TNFi non-response, supporting a translational path to personalized care.
Where this research is happening
-
Hospital for Special Surgery
New York, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Wampler Muskardin, Theresa — Hospital for Special Surgery
- Study coordinator: Wampler Muskardin, Theresa
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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.