What affects protective memory immune cells in the nose and throat
Official title: Factors influencing TRM responses in upper airway tissue
Funded at La Jolla Institute for Immunology · NIH-11377300 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers will compare how age, smoking, diabetes, and vaccination change tissue-resident memory T cells in the upper airway of people having routine surgery.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | La Jolla Institute for Immunology NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (La Jolla, United States) |
| Project start | March 11, 2019 |
| Project end | February 28, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $514,687 |
| NIH project number | 5U19AI142742-08 |
| Project ID | NIH-11377300 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults scheduled for elective upper airway or head-and-neck surgery at participating centers who can donate small tissue and blood samples and may agree to receive a vaccine prior to surgery.
✕Less likely to help
People not having elective upper airway surgery, those unable or unwilling to donate tissue or blood, or children (if not enrolled) are unlikely to directly participate or benefit from this project.
What this research studies
You would be asked to donate a small piece of upper airway tissue and a blood sample during routine head and neck surgery so researchers can look at local memory T and B cells; some participants may be offered a vaccination before surgery. The team will compare samples from people who are older versus younger, smokers versus non-smokers, and people with versus without diabetes to see how these factors change the number and quality of airway memory cells. Lab tests including cell analysis and chromatin-accessibility profiling (ATAC-seq) will be used to understand how these cells are organized and how ready they are to respond to infections. The work focuses on real human tissue to learn what helps or hurts long-lasting protection in the nose and throat.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could guide better vaccine approaches and identify who might need different strategies to boost airway immunity against respiratory viruses.
How similar studies have gone: Previous animal and cancer immunology studies have shown tissue-resident memory T cells matter for protection, but studying how age, smoking, diabetes, and vaccination shape these cells in human upper airway tissue is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
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La Jolla Institute for Immunology
La Jolla, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Vijayanand, Pandurangan — La Jolla Institute for Immunology
- Study coordinator: Vijayanand, Pandurangan
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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.