Congrats to the following recipients of the MI4 Seed Fund Grant – Round 5
Maziar Divangahi and Corinne Maurice
Title: Early life BCG vaccination shaping gut microbiome and subsequently host defense against tuberculosis. Approximately 2 million people die of TB annually and 8 to 10 million new cases of active tuberculosis occur each year. Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) is the only available vaccine against TB that provides protection in children but not adults. Given the remarkable safety track record of BCG vaccination as well as the epidemiological studies supporting the efficacy of BCG vaccination against TB in children, in the current proposal, we aim to dissect the protective mechanism(s) of BCG in neonates as a roadmap for developing a novel vaccine against TB.
Irah King and Lisa Munter
Title: Targeting the gut microbiome to mitigate cholesterol-related diseases. Excess amounts of blood cholesterol, particularly low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or “bad” cholesterol, are major risk factors for the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) as well as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common form of dementia in older adults. Here we propose to identify human gut microbiomes that are enriched for cholesterol breakdown and, using fecal transplantation approaches in mice, directly test the ability of these microbial communities to prevent high LDL levels and maintain a healthy heart and brain. Results from this seed grant project will set a foundation for identifying components of the human gut microbiome that can be used as a point of intervention for the prevention and/or treatment of CVD and AD-related pathologies.
Read More
Results: MI4 Seed Fund Grants – Round 5. MI4 Website. April 2023.
Five RI-MUHC researchers receive new funding from MI4. Innovative approaches in addressing pandemic threats, antimicrobial resistance, and the microbes that shape human health were supported in Round 5 of MI4’s Seed Fund Grant program. RI-MUHC News. April 26, 2023.