Why COVID-19 affects people’s lungs differently
Official title: Mechanistic modeling of the innate immune responses of the human lung to understand the inter-individual heterogeneity of COVID-19 pneumonia
Funded at University of Florida · NIH-11132659 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers will use lab-grown 3D lung tissue, mice with the human ACE2 receptor, and computer models to find biological reasons some people with COVID-19 develop severe pneumonia while others do not.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Florida NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Gainesville, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2023 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $733,796 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HL169974-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11132659 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults who have had SARS-CoV-2 infection or who can provide clinical data or biological samples for model personalization would be the most relevant candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without any connection to SARS-CoV-2 infection or those seeking immediate clinical treatment are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this primarily lab- and model-focused research.
What this research studies
If you've had COVID-19, this project looks at why some people get much worse lung disease than others by combining lab-grown 3D human lung tissue, mice engineered with the human ACE2 receptor, and personalized computer simulations of infection. The team will expand a multi-scale mathematical model and tailor it to individual biological differences using data from the 3D cultures and animal studies. They will test whether different activation of the mTOR pathway in type I alveolar epithelial cells helps explain divergent outcomes. The aim is to identify host-specific immune pathways that could guide more personalized approaches to preventing or treating severe COVID-19 pneumonia.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could identify biological markers and host-targeted strategies to reduce the risk of severe COVID-19 pneumonia in individual patients.
How similar studies have gone: Related 3D lung models, animal studies, and computational approaches have previously helped reveal disease mechanisms, but the specific combination and personalization proposed here is relatively novel for COVID-19.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Florida
Gainesville, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Mehrad, Borna — University of Florida
- Study coordinator: Mehrad, Borna
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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.