# BLR&D Research Career Scientist Award Application

> **NIH VA IK6** · VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION · 2021 · —

## Abstract

I am a pulmonary immunologist with over 20 years of experience in studies of
inflammatory/infectious diseases in the lungs and at the systemic level. Sixteen of those years,
I have worked at the Ann Arbor VAHS. My overall career goal is to expand the understanding of
host pathogen interactions, specifically the effect of microbe- and host-derived signals on the
fate of the immune response. I deeply believe that an understanding of these interactions will
create a foundation for the development of safe and effective immunomodulatory therapies that
will greatly enhance the effectiveness of antimicrobial therapeutics in persistent infections. Our
lab has specialized in animal modeling and translational studies applying these principles, which
are highly relevant to broader range of diseases as shown by more recent clinical data.
Over the last 15 years, my studies have mostly focused on host pathogen interactions between
invasive fungus C. neoformans and the mammalian immune system. The studies of invasive
fungal infections are of specific interest to the VA, because of the higher than average rate of
immunocompromised patients among veterans and increased risk of exposure to various
endemic and environmental fungi due to locations and conditions of military service that favor
fungal exposures. Unfortunately, the invasive fungal infections have unacceptably high mortality
rates, due to limited effectiveness of antifungal drugs, toxicity, and the high potential of fungal
organisms to develop resistance to these drugs. Thus, it is crucial to understand the effects of
immunomodulation on fungal disease from the perspective of the natural mechanisms of host
defenses, mechanisms of immune evasion exhibited by fungi, and to explore pre-clinical
approaches of immuno-modulatory therapies. The long-standing support of VA BLR&D was one
of the crucial factors that allowed our group to establish itself among leaders in cryptococcal and
fungal immunology. While this support has led to many important findings, there is still a lot
more that we need to learn before we can safely and efficiently apply immunomodulatory
therapies in persistent infections. The VA RCS Award will allow our group to continue this great
work and create stability supportive of exploration of very novel but more risky directions of
research. This award will also allow to further broaden PI’s collaborative interactions with
physician scientists, enhance training efforts, and to continue PI’s service to the scientific
community at the VA and beyond.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10046729
- **Project number:** 5IK6BX003615-05
- **Recipient organization:** VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
- **Principal Investigator:** Michal A Olszewski
- **Activity code:** IK6 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-10-01 → 2021-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10046729

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10046729, BLR&D Research Career Scientist Award Application (5IK6BX003615-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10046729. Licensed CC0.

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