# Programmable Phage Display Peptidomes to Characterize Uveitis

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2024 · $246,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Uveitis is a heterogenous group of ocular inflammatory diseases that results in significant ocular morbidity and
can cause long-term blindness if not diagnosed accurately and treated adequately. A major challenge in
uveitis, however, is the inadequate clinical and laboratory methods to determine the exact cause of the
inflammatory response. Furthermore, biomarker discovery is lacking in uveitis. Here, we propose to leverage
programmable phage display peptidomes coupled with high-throughput sequencing to identify autoantigens
and antibodies important for uveitis. In Aim 1, we will use a comprehensive human peptidome phage display
library to bio-pan for autoantigens in the intraocular fluid and tear specimens of patients with idiopathic anterior
uveitis. In Aim 2, we will generate a comprehensive viral peptidome phage library to agnostically bio-pan for
viral antibodies in the intraocular fluid and plasma specimens of patients with presumed viral-associated
anterior uveitis but for whom conventional diagnostics failed to reveal an etiology. Viral and human peptidomes
have not been applied to the intraocular fluid and tears of uveitis patients. We anticipate these experiments will
result in new diagnostics for uveitis and thus have the potential to improve patient care and clinical outcomes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10993534
- **Project number:** 1R21EY036683-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** NISHA ACHARYA
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $246,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-01 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10993534

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10993534, Programmable Phage Display Peptidomes to Characterize Uveitis (1R21EY036683-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10993534. Licensed CC0.

---

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