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Penn Institute for Immunology & Immune Health (I3H) 2024 Pilot Grant Program RFA  

Immunology research has greatly benefited from advances in spatial imaging techniques, allowing for the visualization and analysis of immune cell interactions within tissue microenvironments. To further foster innovation in this field, the Institute for Immunology & Immune Health (I3H) is announcing a pilot grant opportunity focused on technologies and analytic pipelines for understanding immune cells interactions in tissue and cellular neighborhoods. The objective of this pilot grant is to support exploratory research projects that leverage spatial imaging techniques to investigate immunological processes within tissues, with the goal of advancing our understanding of immune cell interactions, immune responses, and disease pathogenesis. Importantly, pilot grants that introduce new collaborations and are responsive to an upcoming RFA, future NIH Concepts or other future funding mechanism will be given priority. A specific plan should be articulated on the immunological question that will be developed and executed. It will also be important to describe how these studies will position the investigator(s) to compete more effectively for a future application and/or translated into potential future clinical opportunities. The science remains a priority; however, it is important to emphasize how the proposed studies will develop a new line of investigation for the PI and how the results of these studies will be capitalized on in the future.


Introducing Our First I3H Newsletter: Discover the Latest in Immunology! 

We are excited to announce the launch of the very first edition of the Penn Medicine Institute for Immunology and Immune Health (I3H) newsletter! This newsletter is our latest initiative to keep you informed and engaged with the ever-evolving world of immunology at Penn.

In this inaugural issue, we shine a spotlight on the significant strides being made at the Colton Center for Autoimmunity. This center is rapidly becoming a hub for innovative research and advancements in the field of autoimmunity, and we can't wait for you to learn more about its impactful work. Additionally, this issue features special spotlights on two of our faculty members. These profiles offer an in-depth look at their cutting-edge research and contributions to the field of immunology. Their dedication and innovation are driving forward our understanding and treatment of immune-related diseases, and we're excited to share their stories with you. We're also especially proud to highlight our recent pilot grant awardees, whose projects promise to bring new insights and developments. We encourage you to dive into this issue and explore the exciting developments happening within our community.

Thank you for being a part of our I3H community. We look forward to your continued engagement and support.


Borrelli Family Lynch Syndrome Pilot Awardee

Alex Huang, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, for his project titled: Neoantigen-specific memory T cell responses in Lynch Syndrome carriers.”


Announcing the Establishment of the Institute for Immunology & Immune Health (I3H)

We are delighted to introduce the establishment of the Institute for Immunology & Immune Health (I3H), a reorganization of the Institute for Immunology (IFI) and Immune Health, led by E. John Wherry, PhD and Allie Greenplate, PhD.

Penn is a national leader in advancing knowledge of the basic immunology of inflammation, autoimmunity, cancer, transplantation, and infection. In recent years, the immunology community at Penn has recognized the ability to translate this knowledge of the immune system into innovative novel strategies to diagnose, treat and prevent disease. This effort has been crystallized within the Penn Immune Health Project. Translating novel scientific discoveries into clinically actionable tools requires innovative research, a platform to scale human research, and infrastructure that spans both lab and clinic. To accomplish the goals of deploying routine human immune profiling for real-time clinical decision making to benefit patients while fueling discovery science in patients, there is an opportunity to harmonize and align the missions of the IFI and Immune Health.

As a new organization, I3H will bring together basic together discovery immunology and translational research with infrastructure to scale and integrate immunological knowledge into the electronic medical record. Merging the two entities, will leverage the campus-wide organizational structure of the IFI and bring broad expertise in fundamental immunology to clinical application of Immune Health. I3H will in turn, create broader opportunities to address diverse aspects of immunology in human health and disease, enable discovery and mechanistic science of human disease, and leverage Penn Medicine’s first-mover position in immunology to lead the transformation of routine human immune profiling for impact across medical disciplines.

*Stay tuned for our new I3H Website, coming soon!*


Academic Freedom Statement

The policies of the University of Pennsylvania protect academic freedom, as defined in the AAUP’s 1940 Statement of Principles.  This statement has been endorsed by over 250 scholarly and educational organizations in the United States, and its principles are written into faculty handbooks nationwide, including Penn’s. The principles of academic freedom were established to protect the integrity of research and teaching from interference by donors, trustees, politicians, and others who might seek to make universities serve private and political interests.  They are founded on the idea that a university’s purpose is to generate new knowledge that can serve the common good in a democratic society, and that generating new knowledge requires free and open inquiry.  To safeguard the university’s public mission, academic freedom entails the following rights for all faculty members—whether tenure-track or non-tenure track, and including graduate research and teaching assistants—and for students:  

The right of faculty members to full freedom in research, teaching, extramural speech (public speech on issues of general concern) and intramural speech (speech about the university itself, including criticism of it).

The right of students to freedom in learning, which includes freedom of association and expression and freedom of inquiry in the classroom.

Academic freedom is only as strong as the institutions, procedures, and professional norms that faculty members established over the last century to protect it: institutions of faculty governance such as Faculty Senates and unions; the institution of tenure; and due process procedures that protect both tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty against unjust discipline or dismissal.  For further information about academic freedom, see the AAUP-Penn website.

Immune Health at PennMedicine

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