# Identification of Pathways and Targets in Post-influenza Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis

> **NIH NIH R03** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2020 · $68,080

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Fungal pathogens are a serious threat to human health. Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) is a severe, life-
threatening disease that occurs when Aspergillus fumigatus (AF) spores are inhaled into the respiratory tract
and invade airway or lung tissue. More than 200,000 cases of invasive aspergillosis occur each year. A newly
identified risk factor for IPA in critically ill patients is influenza infection. Influenza is a common respiratory illness
that affects 5-20% of the population each year. Our long-term goal is to develop novel therapeutic interventions
for use in clinical settings to prevent morbidity and mortality from IPA. The focus of this application is to identify
cell signaling pathways that increase susceptibility to invasive fungal disease following influenza infection. We
hypothesize that preceding influenza A infection inhibits leukocyte responses against secondary Aspergillus
fumigatus infection through the induction of IFN, leading to invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. Our research aims
include 1) To characterize the gene regulatory architecture of leukocytes at a single cell resolution during post-
influenza invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. We will perform single cell RNA sequencing on CD45+ immune cells
collected from lung tissue from (1) wild-type and (2) IFN -/- mice infected with aspergillus, influenza, and super-
infected with influenza followed by aspergillus.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10063634
- **Project number:** 1R03HL154242-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Keven Mara Robinson
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $68,080
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-08-01 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10063634

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10063634, Identification of Pathways and Targets in Post-influenza Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis (1R03HL154242-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10063634. Licensed CC0.

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