# Institutional Career Development Core

> **NIH NIH KL2** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2024 · $194,400

## Abstract

The proposed NIH KL2 INCLUDE Career Development Award supports a promising dual-degree (DDS, PhD)
early career faculty to train in the clinical and translational research to improve and extend the oral healthspan
in people with Down syndrome (DS). With a higher prevalence of oral inflammatory diseases, like periodontitis
and gingivitis, at an earlier age (<30 years old in people with DS vs. >65 years old in people without DS), the
underlying impact of aging biology remains largely unexplored. Specifically, this proposal will investigate the
role of low-grade, chronic inflammation, termed “inflammaging” in the periodontal barrier of children with DS.
Further, this proposal will set up future work to address INCLUDE Project priorities, Component 1, by
identifying a DS mouse model best suited to mimic accelerated human oral inflammation in addition to
investigating mechanisms of inflammaging in the gingival barrier, and Component 2, by assessing the oral
health landscape in people with DS using epidemiological inquiry. The KL2 scholar will leverage collaborations
at clinical and dental sites that see over 600 children and adults with DS to complete the proposed work and
engage with the DS community in Washington State. The KL2 scholar will be supported by the Institute of
Translational Health Sciences (ITHS), the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program hub at the
University of Washington (UW), UW School of Dentistry, and mentored by established researchers to develop
as an investigator conducting rigorous clinical and translational research. The mentoring team for the KL2
scholar is comprised of NIH-funded researchers (OD, NIAID, NHLBI, NCATS, NIDCR) who are experts in
single-cell analysis, mucosal immunology, DS immunology and deep phenotyping, and epidemiology. Mentors
will advance the scholar's career development by helping him to build trans-disciplinary collaborative
relationships and train in novel research activities. Importantly, this award will provide the applicant with the
protected time, resources, salary support, and training and development to take his career to the next level in
establishing an independent clinical and translational research career in DS-related research, specifically to
extend the oral healthspan in children and adults with DS.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10878243
- **Project number:** 3KL2TR002317-08S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Christy Michelle McKinney
- **Activity code:** KL2 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $194,400
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2017-06-01 → 2027-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10878243

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10878243, Institutional Career Development Core (3KL2TR002317-08S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10878243. Licensed CC0.

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