Tuesday, July 1, 2025 7/1/2025

Defining Immunology Frailty as a Predictor of Human Liver Allograft Recipient Futility

Award Number: K08DK118187
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DIABETES & DIGESTIVE & KIDNEY DISEASES
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 04/10/2019
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 10/31/2024

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Defining Immunology Frailty as a Predictor of Human Liver Allograft Recipient Futility - Project Summary/Abstract DESCRIPTION: This application for a Mentored Clinician Scientist Development Award (K08) is designed to evaluate the effect of cirrhosis-induced immune dysfunction on liver transplant outcomes. The candidate is a transplant surgeon and immunologist whose long-term goal is to develop treatments to prevent immune frailty and improve liver transplant recipient survival. In order to fulfill the educational objectives of this award, this proposal will expand the applicant’s knowledge base into novel lines of translational research inquiry and delve into new areas of investigation requiring focused mentorship. The mentors assisting in the applicant’s development will be crucial for her success, for the performance of the proposed studies, and for the educational mission of the award. Xian Li, PhD, a leader in basic science immunology, and Mark Ghobrial, MD, PhD, a leader in clinical and translational research, will serve as co-mentors. They will be assisted by Drs. Dale Hamilton and Anisha Gupte, who will provide mentorship in bioenergetics; Dr. Ed Graviss, who will provide expertise in biostatistics; Dr. Wenhao Chen, who will provide expertise in T cell exhaustion, and Dr. Todd Eagar, who will provide expertise in inflammation. A rigorous career development plan will be implemented, including structured workshops, biostatistics course work, scientific seminars, and lab meetings. This combination will be instrumental in ensuring the candidate’s successful transition to a career as an independent investigator. PROJECT SUMMARY: Due to organ shortage, livers are transplanted in order of recipient medical urgency; however, ethical principles dictate avoidance of futile transplantation. Due to imbalance in supply and demand for organs, illness severity (categorized by MELD score) has drastically increased. MELD does not correlate well with risk of death post-transplant; thus, better metrics to evaluate risk of mortality are necessary. The most common cause of death early after liver transplant relates to consequences of an immune system which is frail or dysfunctional prior to transplant. In pre-transplant cirrhotics, immune frailty may relate to metabolic deficiencies or T cell exhaustion and may affect liver transplant outcomes. Based on this, it is hypothesized that the pre-transplant state of immunologic frailty results from cirrhosis-related alterations in recipient metabolism, resulting in global T cell metabolic dysfunction, increased T cell exhaustion, and limited adaptive immune proliferation and function. Persistence of immunologic frailty following liver transplant results in increased recipient mortality. This will be addressed by three Aims, which will (1) evaluate metabolic alterations in liver transplant recipients and determine the bioenergetics pathways involved in immune frailty, (2) examine the role of T cell exhaustion in immune frailty, and (3) determine the longitudinal effect of frailty on the recipient post-transplant immune response. IMPACT: These studies are critically important to identify biological markers of immunologic frailty. Defining pre- transplant frailty will improve patient selection for liver transplant, prevent wasting of livers in patients at high risk of futility, and identify therapeutic targets to reverse frailty and improve patient survival.


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 = $0 )
2025	2023	RUTGERS THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY	65 BERGEN ST	NEWARK	NJ	07107	ESSEX	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	000	5	2/10/2025	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2024	2023	RUTGERS THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY	65 BERGEN ST	NEWARK	NJ	07107	ESSEX	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	001	5	3/20/2024	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$8,412
2024	2022	RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY	185 S ORANGE AVE	NEWARK	NJ	07103	ESSEX	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	000	4	3/20/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$8,412
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $328,935 )
2023	2023	RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY	65 BERGEN ST	NEWARK	NJ	07107	ESSEX	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	000	5	2/27/2023	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$187,963
2023	2023	RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY	65 BERGEN ST	NEWARK	NJ	07107	ESSEX	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	003	5	9/11/2023	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$140,972
2023	2023	RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY	65 BERGEN ST	NEWARK	NJ	07107	ESSEX	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	002	5	9/11/2023	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$0
2023	2022	RUTGERS THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY	185 S ORANGE AVE	NEWARK	NJ	07103	ESSEX	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	001	4	8/3/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $328,935

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $187,963 )
2022	2022	RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY	185 S ORANGE AVE	NEWARK	NJ	07103	ESSEX	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	000	4	1/31/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$187,963
														Subtotal = $187,963

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $187,963 )
2021	2021	RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY	185 S ORANGE AVE	NEWARK	NJ	07103	ESSEX	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	000	3	1/26/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$187,963
														Subtotal = $187,963

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $187,963 )
2020	2020	RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY	185 S ORANGE AVE	NEWARK	NJ	07103	ESSEX	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	003	2	6/1/2020	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$115,711
2020	2020	RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY	185 S ORANGE AVE	NEWARK	NJ	07103	ESSEX	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	001	2	3/10/2020	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$187,963
2020	2019	METHODIST HOSPITAL, THE	6670 BERTNER AVE	HOUSTON	TX	77030	HARRIS	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	000	1	3/10/2020	NEW	$0
2020	2019	METHODIST HOSPITAL, THE	6670 BERTNER AVE	HOUSTON	TX	77030	HARRIS	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	002	1	6/1/2020	NEW	-$115,711
														Subtotal = $187,963

Issue Date FY: 2019 ( Subtotal = $170,792 )
2019	2019	METHODIST HOSPITAL, THE	6670 BERTNER AVE	HOUSTON	TX	77030	HARRIS	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	000	1	4/10/2019	NEW	$170,792
														Subtotal = $170,792

Grand Total All Awards = $1,063,616

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Defining Immunology Frailty as a Predictor of Human Liver Allograft Recipient Futility

Award Number: K08DK118187

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DIABETES & DIGESTIVE & KIDNEY DISEASES

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 04/10/2019

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 10/31/2024

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