Tuesday, July 1, 2025 7/1/2025

Functions for novel IL-15-responsive macrophages in the uterus during pregnancy

Award Number: K08AI151265
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 12/01/2020
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 11/30/2025

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

Functions for novel IL-15-responsive macrophages in the uterus during pregnancy - PROJECT SUMMARY The overall goal of this five-year proposal for a Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award is for me to develop into a productive, independent academic investigator in the field of reproductive immunology. I completed an MD and a PhD in the field of basic cellular immunology, and I now seek to apply my interest in dysregulated immunity to the public health threat of adverse fetal and maternal outcomes of pregnancy. I graduated from the American Board of Pediatrics Accelerated Research Pathway for Residency in General, and I completed my Fellowship in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the University of Pennsylvania (Penn). I joined the faculty of CHOP and Penn as an Attending Physician and Instructor in the Division of Neonatology. My mentor for this award, Dr. Edward M. Behrens, is a physician- scientist with a longstanding track record of scientific innovation and providing exceptional training to mentees at all levels. As an internationally-recognized expert in innate immunity and inflammatory disorders, Dr. Behrens’s work complements my own, and we are thus poised for productivity. My scientific advisory committee includes scientists and physician-scientists with collective expertise in all aspects of the proposed work, from placental biology to next-generation sequencing. I am also extremely fortunate to have the unreserved support of CHOP and Penn, whose combined resources are unmatched. Scientifically, this proposal focuses on roles for novel macrophages that I discovered under the guidance of Dr. Behrens, called CD122+Macs, in normal and threatened pregnancy. Enriched in the uterus in mice and humans, CD122+Macs express high levels of CD122, the hallmark of responsiveness to interleukin-15 (IL-15). These novel Macs signal and function when exposed to IL-15, surprising because killer lymphocytes like natural killer (NK) cells, not Macs, are the classical targets of IL-15. Disrupted homeostasis of IL-15 is associated with numerous adverse outcomes of pregnancy, including preeclampsia and abnormal feto-placental growth but through unknown mechanisms. Based on prior literature and my preliminary data, my central hypothesis is: IL- 15 exerts its influence over outcomes of pregnancy not only by maintaining NK cells but also by modulating the inflammatory properties of novel CD122+Macs. The aims of this proposal will establish: 1) Mechanisms by which CD122+Macs respond biochemically and transcriptionally to IL-15 and 2) IL-15-dependent requirements for CD122+Macs in pregnancy in vivo. This proposal will close major gaps in knowledge regarding the mechanism by which IL-15 acts on a novel cellular target to ensure maternal and fetal health during pregnancy. In accordance with my career development objective to become a field leader in reproductive immunology, my scientific proposal complements my current proficiency in cellular immunologic methods with training in advanced reproductive biology and bioinformatic methods.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $185,328 )
2025	2025	THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA	3401 CIVIC CENTER BLVD	PHILADELPHIA	PA	19104	PHILADELPHIA	USA	Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research	000	5	11/14/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$185,328
														Subtotal = $185,328

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $223,128 )
2024	2024	CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA, THE	3401 CIVIC CENTER BLVD	PHILADELPHIA	PA	19104	PHILADELPHIA	USA	Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research	000	4	11/15/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$185,328
2024	2024	CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA, THE	3401 CIVIC CENTER BLVD	PHILADELPHIA	PA	19104	PHILADELPHIA	USA	Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research	001	4	11/16/2023	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$37,800
														Subtotal = $223,128

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $223,128 )
2023	2023	CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA, THE	3401 CIVIC CENTER BLVD	PHILADELPHIA	PA	19104	PHILADELPHIA	USA	Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research	001	3	6/27/2023	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$37,800
2023	2023	CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA, THE	3401 CIVIC CENTER BLVD	PHILADELPHIA	PA	19104	PHILADELPHIA	USA	Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research	000	3	11/10/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$185,328
														Subtotal = $223,128

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $185,328 )
2022	2022	CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA, THE	3401 CIVIC CENTER BLVD	PHILADELPHIA	PA	19104	PHILADELPHIA	USA	Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research	000	2	11/10/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$185,328
														Subtotal = $185,328

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $185,328 )
2021	2021	CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA, THE	3401 CIVIC CENTER BLVD	PHILADELPHIA	PA	19104	PHILADELPHIA	USA	Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research	000	1	11/25/2020	NEW	$185,328
														Subtotal = $185,328

Grand Total All Awards = $1,002,240

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

Functions for novel IL-15-responsive macrophages in the uterus during pregnancy

Award Number: K08AI151265

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 12/01/2020

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 11/30/2025

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer