# Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research in the Microbiome and Lung Disease

> **NIH NIH K24** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2024 · $125,031

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Dr. Dickson is an Associate Professor in Medicine (Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine) and Microbiology &
Immunology at the University of Michigan. He is a physician-scientist with expertise in the microbiome’s role in
critical illness and lung disease, and has an established track record of high-impact patient-oriented research.
He has demonstrated his potential to excel in mentorship via successful supervision of research trainees, as
Associate Program Director for Research for the University of Michigan’s highly successful Pulmonary &
Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Program, and as Associate Program Director for his Division’s T32 training
program (Multidisciplinary Training in Lung Disease).
Dr. Dickson seeks this K24 Mid-Career Investigator Award to continue his successful research program while
dedicating significant time to mentoring the next generation of aspiring scientists, including medical students,
residents, clinical and post-doctorate fellows, and junior faculty. The goals of this proposal are to 1) support the
candidate’s continued impact as a mentor, 2) secure protected time for coursework to acquire new mentorship
and leadership skills, 3) and equip the candidate to recruit mentees interested in patient-oriented research.
In his proposed research and development plan, Dr. Dickson will tailor a mentoring plan to each trainee
consisting of one-on-one mentoring sessions, formal educational opportunities in research methods and the
responsible conduct of research, and collaborations with colleagues with complementary expertise and
educational commitments. Each candidate will have a tailored timeline towards career advancement, including
the regular publication of original research manuscripts. Dr. Dickson will provide mentorship not only in
methodologic expertise but also in the critical skills of scientific communication and leadership.
Dr. Dickson’s scientific aims for this project will extend his existing research into a new area of immediate
patient-oriented importance: the role of the microbiome in viral respiratory infections. The first aim will be to
determine if respiratory and gut bacteria (characterized via pharyngeal swabs, rectal swabs, and by the
diversity and burden of gut bacterial DNA detectable in blood specimens) explains patient heterogeneity in
susceptibility to severe COVID-19 disease. The second aim will be to determine how acute influenza infection
and vaccination (administered in a controlled experiment of healthy volunteers) alters upper respiratory tract
microbiota, and how this explains variation in systemic immune response. These aims leverage 1) existing
biospecimens already available to Dr. Dickson, 2) a unique controlled experimental human model of acute
influenza infection, and 3) Dr. Dickson’s broad research portfolio characterizing the role of microbiota (both
respiratory and gut) in the pathogenesis of critical illness.
Dr. Dickson is at an ideal stage of his career to ta...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10836437
- **Project number:** 5K24HL159247-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** Robert Pickett Dickson
- **Activity code:** K24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $125,031
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-05-01 → 2027-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10836437

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10836437, Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research in the Microbiome and Lung Disease (5K24HL159247-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10836437. Licensed CC0.

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