Mission and Focus of CMIR Funding

The Center Director and PI, Michael Holers, MD, and a team on the Anschutz Medical Campus, have been awarded a P30 Grant (award number 1P30AR079369) from NIAMS to establish a Center for Mucosal Immunobiology and Rheumatic Disease Pathogenesis.

Along with Co-Director Kristi Kuhn, MD, PhD, Pilot and Microgrant Program Director Rob Fuhlbrigge, MD, PhD, and Core Directors Kevin Deane, MD, PhD and Cathy Lozupone, PhD, the Center will explore the role of chronic inflammation and dysbiosis within the mucosal immune system as a catalyst for both the initial break in self-tolerance in asymptomatic individuals as well as a continued driver of clinical disease development and increasing target organ damage. 

As part of the Center’s goals to increase understanding of the complexities of mucosal immunobiology, including knowledge of host-microbe interactions as well as immune cell activation locally, systemically and in target organs, the Center will provide micro-grant and pilot & feasibility funding for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, research fellows and junior faculty (Instructor and Assistant Professor) to develop preliminary data for pursuing rheumatic disease research and utilize the expertise of the Research Cores and the cohorts, data and biologic specimens.