Understanding immune responses to respiratory viruses in people at higher risk
Official title: Systems Immunology profiling of respiratory viral infections in vulnerable populations
Funded at Benaroya Research Inst at Virginia Mason · NIH-11332432 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how the immune system reacts to common respiratory viruses in children with asthma, allergies, or obesity and in adults with rheumatoid arthritis.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Benaroya Research Inst at Virginia Mason NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Seattle, United States) |
| Project start | March 29, 2022 |
| Project end | February 28, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $2,283,860 |
| NIH project number | 5U19AI167891-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11332432 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are children (including toddlers and school-age) with asthma, allergies (atopy), or obesity who get respiratory infections, and adults diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis who experience respiratory viruses.
✕Less likely to help
People without chronic airway inflammation or rheumatoid arthritis, or those unwilling to provide airway or blood samples during and after infections, are unlikely to benefit directly from participating.
What this research studies
If I join, researchers will collect airway and blood samples and health information when I have a natural respiratory virus infection and again afterward. They will use detailed immune profiling (sometimes called systems immunology) to map which immune cells and signals are active in different people. The work compares children with asthma, atopy, or obesity to each other and to adults who have rheumatoid arthritis, to find patterns linked to worse illness. Results will come from combining many lab measurements to spot immune signatures tied to complications or recovery.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could help doctors identify people at higher risk for severe respiratory virus complications and point toward new targeted treatments or prevention strategies.
How similar studies have gone: Previous systems-immunology studies have revealed immune signatures in infections and asthma, but applying this comprehensive approach across pediatric asthma/atopy/obesity and adult RA patients together is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
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Benaroya Research Inst at Virginia Mason
Seattle, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Mikacenic, Carmen R — Benaroya Research Inst at Virginia Mason
- Study coordinator: Mikacenic, Carmen R
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.