The Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Transplantation (DAIT) supports basic, preclinical, and clinical research to:
- Advance understanding of how the immune system develops and functions in health and disease across the lifespan.
- Identify the mechanisms leading to immune-mediated diseases, with the goal of improving diagnosis, prevention, and treatment.
The immune system is a complex network of specialized molecules, cells, and organs that act together to protect against disease-causing organisms such as viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi. The innate immune system responds rapidly, whereas the adaptive immune system is slower to respond, and retains memory of past encounters. Immune development begins before birth and matures rapidly during infancy upon exposure to a wide range of pathogens, vaccines, foods, and the microbiomes—thriving communities of trillions of bacteria, fungi, and viruses—that evolve and live on and inside our bodies (e.g., skin, lung, and gut).
During immune development cells of the immune system are “educated” to respond to pathogens but not to the body’s own cells and tissues, foods, and normal components of a healthy microbiome. This is termed immune tolerance.
Deleterious immune responses can result from loss of immune tolerance leading to autoimmune diseases or food allergies that affect millions of Americans. These conditions cause considerable illness and death, and medical costs. Thus, knowledge of the immune system and its role in disease is increasingly important in the daily practice of medicine. Examples of immune-mediated diseases include the following:
- Asthma, food allergy, drug allergy, atopic dermatitis (eczema), and other allergic diseases such as rhinitis (which affects the nose), and rhinosinusitis (which affects the nose and sinuses).
- Autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, type I diabetes, celiac disease, and multiple sclerosis.
- Acute and chronic inflammatory disorders such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s Disease.
- Inborn errors of immunity, which include >500 genetically determined disorders typically associated with heightened and life-long susceptibility to infection. Examples include severe combined immune deficiency (the Bubble-Boy syndrome), chronic granulomatous disease, agammaglobulinemia, and Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome.
DAIT Scientific Areas of Interest
Basic Immunology
DAIT supports research to investigate the properties, interactions, and functions of the molecules, cells, and tissues of the immune system in health and disease and after infection or vaccination. DAIT also supports a robust program focused on developing new and improved adjuvants, which are included in some vaccines to create a stronger immune response. Information gained from these studies serves as the foundation for developing new approaches to diagnose, treat, and prevent infectious diseases and immune-mediated conditions.
Allergic Disease
Asthma, food allergy, atopic dermatitis, rhinitis, and rhinosinusitis are diseases with high prevalence in the United States and around the world. The factors leading to these conditions and novel approaches to their diagnosis, management, and prevention are important scientific research areas for DAIT. The division supports a wide portfolio of grants in basic research and clinical trials, as well as the following major initiatives:
- Childhood Asthma in Urban Settings Network
- Consortium for Food Allergy Research
- Atopic Dermatitis Research Network
- Asthma and Allergic Diseases Cooperative Research Centers
- Research Initiative for Vaccine and Antibiotic Allergy
Autoimmunity
DAIT supports a broad grant portfolio on basic, preclinical, and clinical research on various autoimmune diseases, mucosal immunity, and inborn errors of immunity. The Autoimmunity Centers of Excellence is the division’s major clinical trial network on autoimmune diseases, promotes collaborative research between basic scientists and clinicians conducting clinical trials of immunomodulatory therapies and associated mechanistic studies.
Transplant Immunology
The goal of NIAID transplantation research is to improve the long-term success of organ, tissue, and cell transplantation by understanding the role the immune system plays in transplant success or failure. NIAID-supported investigators are working to selectively control or eliminate unwanted immune responses that can lead to organ rejection while maintaining the immune system's ability to fight infection and cancer. The aim is to reduce the need for broadly immunosuppressive medications, which are associated with significant side effects, and improve long-term transplant survival.
Medical Countermeasures Against Radiological and Nuclear Threats
On behalf of NIH, DAIT manages the Radiation and Nuclear Countermeasures Program, whose mission is to develop medical treatments suited specifically to the civilian population after a radiological or nuclear event. The program has three focus areas:
- Biological markers to measure an individual’s exposure to radiation and guide medical triage
- Drugs to treat radiation injury to the bone marrow, intestines, skin, lungs, kidneys, and brain
- Drugs to remove radioactive material from inside the body.