Joe Dillard was awarded a NIH NIAID R21 research grant. His grant is titled “Mechanisms regulating peptidoglycan and fragment production” and has been awarded from 2/8/2020-1/31/2022.
Jenny Gumperz was awarded a Draper TIF award from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation for her project “Key data to support ‘iNKT-DC conjugates to activate antigen-specific T cell responses’ patent application” from 4/1/2020-6/30/2021. This project will test the ability of a human immunotherapy to promote anti-tumor responses by human T cells in vivo.
Bruce Klein and Garret Suen were awarded a competitive renewal of the “Microbes in Health and Disease” training program from NIH NIAID for to continue its mission to train basic and clinical scientists in understanding the beneficial and harmful roles of microbes related to human health for another 5 years. The program has been awarded funds to support 5 predoctoral and 3 postdoctoral trainee slots starting 7/1/2020.
Nancy Keller has been awarded a NIH NIGMS R01 competitive renewal titled “Accessing the hidden biosynthetic capabilities of fungi” which will support her lab’s investigation of isocyanide synthase BGCs, a prime example for new types of fungal BGCs that promise to reveal genuinely novel structures and chemistry. This competitive renewal has been awarded for 7/1/2020-4/30/2024.
Graduate Student Kimberly Gutierrez and her mentor, JD Sauer have received a fundable score for a Diversity Supplement to Dr. Sauer’s R01 titled “Identification and Characterization of Genes Required for Listeria monocytogenes Cytosolic Survival”. Funding would support Ms. Gutierrez’s research endeavors for two years.
Jenny Gumperz and Igor Slukvin’s proposal “Assessment of use of iPSC-derived cells for conjugate immunotherapy formulation” submitted to the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation Accelerator program is in the approval process. This 1-year project would investigate the feasibility of using iPSC-derived cells to generate a novel cellular immunotherapy.