# Immune Cells and Secretory Pathways Leading to Human Systemic Autoimmunity

> **NIH NIH U19** · WEILL MEDICAL COLL OF CORNELL UNIV · 2024 · $812,808

## Abstract

Summary OVERALL; PD – Pascual, V.
The Autoimmunity Center of Excellence based at Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM) in New York, NY aims at 1)
advancing the knowledge of pathways and mechanisms that contribute to the development and amplification of
Human Systemic Autoimmune Disease (SAD), and 2) developing tools and identifying biomarkers to monitor
these dysfunctional pathways. Ultimately, we aim to be able to stratify patients towards personalized approaches
to treatment.
The Center will apply state-of-the-art technologies in immune profiling, cell biology and the field of nanoparticles
to gain insight into disease contribution of two major and complementary compartments contributing to systemic
disease: Immune Cells and Extra-Cellular Nanoparticles. The appropriate infrastructure is in place to support
patient-based studies. In particular, we emphasize the following key conceptual and technological innovations
adding to our strengths, that include access to an established pediatric SLE cohort followed by experienced
clinical collaborators with an exceptional record of participation in translational research
While the initial focus will be the study of children with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), extrapolation of
the Center findings to adult SLE as well as other SAD scenarios will be pursued, particularly in the context of the
ACE Collaborative efforts.
The Drukier Institute for Children’s Health Research at Weill Cornell Medicine has gathered a multidisciplinary
team of pediatric basic and patient-oriented investigators with expertise in immunology, autoimmunity, cancer
biology, molecular biology, and bioinformatics. This team works alongside clinical experts in autoimmunity,
cancer, allergy and infectious diseases—bench-to-bedside and back—to understand and treat these diseases.
The Institute and current WCM ACE investigators have also established strong local, national and international
collaborations, many of whom are part of the larger ACE community. Dr. Pascual’s team has a long history of
productive research in the fields of human autoinflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Dr. Lyden’s group has
pioneered the study of exosomes and exomeres and how these particles horizontally transfer their cargo to
recipient cells, thereby acting as vehicles of intercellular communication in both physiological and pathological
conditions. The proposed Center is a natural result of the very complementary expertise of these groups and is
well-poised to work collaboratively to advance clinical and basic discoveries in the field of human autoimmunity.
.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10845032
- **Project number:** 2U19AI144301-06
- **Recipient organization:** WEILL MEDICAL COLL OF CORNELL UNIV
- **Principal Investigator:** Maria Virginia Pascual
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $812,808
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2019-05-01 → 2029-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10845032

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10845032, Immune Cells and Secretory Pathways Leading to Human Systemic Autoimmunity (2U19AI144301-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10845032. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*