Madeline Lipp, a PittPharmacy graduate student, has been selected for appointment as a NIH Pre-doctoral T32 Trainee in the Autoimmunity and Immunopathology Training Program. This one-year appointment will provide salary support and travel costs to a scientific meeting to present her findings.

Under the mentorship of Kerry M. Empey, PharmD, PhD, Lipp will test the hypothesis that immature age at primary infection and presence of maternal antibodies are independent factors that contribute to a Th2-dominant tissue resident memory T cell (TRM) pool and are associated with ERD on secondary RSV infection. The proposed studies are expected to identify potential new targets to leverage the development of a balanced CD4 Th1/Th2 TRM response and enhance the antiviral CD8 TRM response to improve viral protection and mitigate the risk of RSV-associated asthma. Identification of novel age-dependent targets that regulate TRMs are also expected to inform future development of safe and effective vaccines in young children.

Comments are closed.