NIH R01 (2021-2026) - Our 5-year, $1.6M project is to define the spatial and temporal dynamics of the urogenital microbiome in postmenopausal women during health and recurrent urinary tract infection.
Role: PI
NIH R21 (2023-2025) - Our 2-year, $500,000 project is to explore the clinical prevalence of Klebsiella quasipneumoniae and to investigate how its fimbriae contribute to urovirulence.
Role: PI
Current Grants
NIH R21 (2024-2026) - Our 2-year, $500,00 project is to develop BactVue, a novel dye for the direct in vivo visualization and targeted ablation of tissue-resident bacteria in the bladders of patients suffering from recurrent urinary tract infections.
Role: Co-PI with Dr. Jeremiah Gassensmith
NIH R01 (2024-2029) - This 5-year $3M project led by PI Dr. Xintong Dong will be the first comprehensive loss-of-function analysis of defensins in the urinary system. This project will complete one of the first surveys of neuroimmune crosstalk in the urinary tract. The goal is to understand the cell types and cell surface receptors that respond to defensins in UTI.
Role: Co-I with Dr. Xintong Dong
NIH R01 (2024-2029) - This 5-year, $3M collaborative project with Dr. Chelsea Armbruster and Dr. Jennifer Rohn is to conduct a comprehensive examination of the GAG composition throughout the urinary tract to determine the contribution of GAGases to CAUTI progression and severity, including polymicrobial infection.
Role: Co-I
Completed Grants
Welch Foundation (2024) - The Welch Foundation has generously supported us with a $300K award for research into glycosaminoglycan utilization and metabolism by the microbiota of the urogenital tract.