Dana May, a PhD candidate in the Sarah Ewald Lab wins award

Dana May was awarded a $141,141 R35 diversity supplement grant to further her studies of cachexia, or the inflammatory loss of lean body mass, which is a leading predictor of morbidity across chronic diseases. A major driver of cachexia is persistent central nervous system (CNS) inflammation driven by IL-1R signaling. Dana will test the role the IL-1R signaling axis plays in regulating parasite growth in endothelial cells. She also aims to determine the mechanism of parasite entry into the brain and test the hypothesis that regional differences in parasite load are associated with local susceptibility to infection and/or spatial regulation of immune reactivity. Understanding the role of the IL-1 axis in cachexia will improve the life span and comfort of patients suffering from a wide range of debilitating chronic diseases. Read more about May’s research.