A research team at the University of Minnesota Medical School has been awarded a five-year, $3.8 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to study the early immune response in the lungs and how it influences the outcome of tuberculosis infection.
The research program, led by Monica Campo, MD, a physician-scientist at the University of Minnesota Medical School, focuses on how lung immune cells called macrophages influence the early stages of tuberculosis infection.
Although tuberculosis begins in the lungs, little is still known about the earliest immune events that determine whether the infection is controlled or progresses. Our goal is to define macrophage programs associated with protective immune responses in humans. We want to generate knowledge that can ultimately lead to better prevention strategies. ”
Dr. Monica Campo, MD, MPH, physician-scientist at the University of Minnesota Medical School and respiratory and critical care physician at M Health Fairview
This study will be conducted through a partnership with the Hennepin County Tuberculosis Clinic. The research team will use advanced experimental tools to study how individual immune cells in the lungs respond to TB exposure, with the goal of identifying which types of macrophages help stop infection in its early stages.
The study is ongoing and participant recruitment is expected to begin later this year.
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University of Minnesota School of Medicine
