# Project 1: Translational Science of Alopecia Areata

> **NIH NIH P50** · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · 2020 · $619,324

## Abstract

ABSTRACT 
The Research Project serves as the principal research directive of the AACORT. The overall goal of 
the AACORT is the comprehensive study of the pathology of Alopecia Areata, which the Research 
Project formalizes into four key goals: 1) the study of the microbiome, 2) proteomic research into 
AA autoantigens, 3) mouse model studies of AA pathology and drug discovery, 4) and studies of human 
AA patients for molecular pathology and drug response. These four goals will result in the full 
characterization of the microbiome, genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic loads that contribute to 
AA pathology. This, in turn, will provide the foundation for the development of biomarkers to track 
AA progression and response to treatment (both genomic and molecular), and the identification of 
drug targets and drug candidates. To drive the pursuit of these objectives, the Research Project 
will serve as a key mediator between the TRAC Core, which will be responsible for designing and 
acquiring human patient biosamples for analysis, and the DATA Core, which will oversee the 
annotation, storage, and analysis of all data generated by the TRAC. It will be one of the Research 
Project’s roles to identify targetable biological objectives to these two cores, which will then 
acquire the data and analyze it for the key molecular drivers that the Research Project can then 
validate as a complement to their ongoing research. Experiments pursued by the Research Project, in 
human or mouse models, will be continuously cross-checked with the bioinformatic analyses of human 
cohorts to develop an unprecedented systemic model of AA pathology. In this manner, all ongoing 
research in the AACORT will be mediated by the central biological questions posed by the Research 
Project, thereby providing uniform objectives for which the AACORT can leverage its multiple 
analytic pipelines.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9784585
- **Project number:** 5P50AR070588-04
- **Recipient organization:** COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** Angela M Christiano
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $619,324
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9784585

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9784585, Project 1: Translational Science of Alopecia Areata (5P50AR070588-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9784585. Licensed CC0.

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