Professor Keselowsky recently received a new NIH R01 grant for “Biomaterial Delivery System for Type 1 Diabetes Vaccine”.

Funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases in collaboration with UF Diabetes Institute Director, Mark Atkinson, Ph.D., and Clive Wasserfall, this $1.5M grant (1R01DK091658-01A1) will fund the investigation of biodegradable microparticle/hydrogel formulations delivering immuno-modulatory factors to targeted immune cell types for the prevention and reversal of autoimmune (type 1) diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease with significant personal and economic impact in the US. Therapeutic vaccination approaches for type 1 diabetes hold promise to correct these autoimmune responses. Dr. Keselowsky and team are engineering a polymeric biomaterials-based delivery platform as an injectable vaccine to retrain the immune system, correcting aberrant activation toward self-antigens. This project focuses on creating a temporary immune modulating microenvironment for controlled delivery of factors and antigen in order to promote self-tolerance.

Congratulations, Dr. Keselowsky!