2019 IDF research grant program recipients announced

Thank you to all the research and medical professionals who applied for the 2019 IDF Research Grant Program, which supports well-defined research projects on primary immunodeficiency (PI) and is made possible by a portion of the funds raised from IDF Walk for PI. 

After careful consideration and extensive review from the IDF Research Committee, we are pleased to announce the researchers who have been selected as recipients of the 2019 IDF Research Grant Program for their exceptional research proposals and benefit for improving the lives of those living with PI:

• Rui Yang, MD, Ph.D. – The Rockefeller University, Inherited T-BET deficiency in Mendelian Susceptibility to Mycobacterial Disease. “Our ongoing research will result in a more in-depth understanding of an immunodeficiency caused by T-BET deficiency as well as the non-redundancy immunological role of T-BET.”
• Shanmuganathan Chandrakasan, MD – Atlanta, Emory University. PIDD in patients with persistent post-rituximab hypogammaglobulinemia. “Understanding the biology and genetic basis could help in ascertaining long-term prognosis, could aid in the initiation of targeted therapies and consideration for definitive treatment such as bone marrow transplant if a genetic defect is identified.”
• Carolyn Baloh, MD – Duke University. Clinical indicators for early bone loss in Common Variable Immunodeficiency. “This provides a first step toward the creation of guidelines for low bone density/osteoporosis in CVID.”
• Stacey Lynn Clardy, MD, PhD – University of Utah Department of Neurology. Neurologic Manifestations of Common Variable Immune Deficiency (CVID). “We propose to conduct a prospective epidemiologic study to ascertain the instance and prevalence of neurologic disease in CVID.”

Without the support of our amazing IDF community, funding for the seed grant program would not be possible and we thank all those who joined us for last year’s IDF Walk for PI, and hope to see you at one of this year’s IDF Walk for PI events so we can continue our mission of improving the diagnosis, treatment and quality of life of persons with PI through advocacy, education, and research. 

We look forward to the results of these research studies, and appreciate all of the amazing support from our IDF community. 

Through the IDF Research Grant Program, more than $375, 000 has been awarded to 14 researchers since 2017.