Understanding how immune memory drives chronic autoimmune uveitis
Official title: Mechanisms of immunological memory-mediated pathogenesis in chronic autoimmune uveitis
Funded at Schepens Eye Research Institute · NIH-11320790 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers are studying why chronic autoimmune uveitis persists and causes vision loss, by looking at immune memory cells in a new mouse model that mirrors human disease.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Schepens Eye Research Institute NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | May 1, 2023 |
| Project end | April 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $492,500 |
| NIH project number | 5R01EY034111-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11320790 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Patients with chronic autoimmune uveitis or related autoimmune eye conditions could benefit from future therapies developed from this research.
✕Less likely to help
This grant is primarily preclinical; there is no immediate patient treatment involved.
What this research studies
Chronic autoimmune uveitis can cause irreversible vision loss and high costs for patients. This project uses a recently developed mouse model of chronic uveitis to study how memory CD4+ T cells contribute to ongoing eye inflammation. The team plans to examine local eye tissue conditions, including low oxygen (hypoxia) environments and metabolic changes, to understand the disease better. Findings could point to new targets for therapies that interrupt the memory-driven persistence of inflammation.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: New insights could lead to treatments that prevent vision loss by targeting memory immune cells in chronic uveitis.
How similar studies have gone: Preclinical models have shown that memory T cells can sustain chronic eye inflammation, supporting the potential relevance of this approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Schepens Eye Research Institute
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Chen, Yihe — Schepens Eye Research Institute
- Study coordinator: Chen, Yihe
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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.