P&F Awardees

Year 1

Pilot Awards

  • James Elder, M.D., Ph.D., Dermatology, University of Michigan: "Single-Cell RNA-Seq analysis of the effect of NETs in TH17 polarization"
  • Eliza Pei-Suen Tsou, Ph.D., Internal Medicine (Rheumatology), University of Michigan: "Dissecting the role of CD13/Aminopeptidase N in scleroderma pathogenesis"
  • Gargi Ghosh, Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan-Dearborn: "Multi-functional hybrid hydrogel for wound healing"
  • Michelle Kahlenberg, M.D., Ph.D., Internal Medicine (Rheumatology), University of Michigan: "Elucidating the cellular and molecular role of PIXT1 in skin inflammation And UVB-mediated keratinocyte apoptosis"
  • Mrinal Sarkar, Ph.D., Dermatology, University of Michigan: "Role of each member of the IL-36 cytokines in keratinocyte immune responses"

Year 2

Pilot Awards

  • Carole Parent, Ph.D. & Pierre Coulombe, Ph.D., Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School: "Live imaging of neutrophil infiltration in stressed skin in real time in vivo"
  • Olesya Plazyo, Ph.D. (Post-Doc) & Allison Billi, M.D., Ph.D. (Mentor), Dermatology, University of Michigan Medical School: "Investigating the role of VGLL3 in antiviral immune responses"
  • Gary Fisher, Ph.D. & Taihao Quan, M.D., Ph.D., Dermatology, University of Michigan Medical School: "The Role YAP/TAZ in Dermal Extracellular Matrix Homeostatus and Aging" 

Innovation Awards

  • Matthew Patrick, Ph.D. & Lam C. Tsoi, Ph.D., Dermatology, University of Michigan Medical School: "Transcriptomic profiling for nascent RNA to identify distinct mediators of early inflammatory response in keratinocytes"
  • Zhaolin Zhang, Ph.D. (Post-Doc) & James T. Elder, M.D., Ph.D. (Mentor), Dermatology, University of Michigan Medical School: "Prediction of regulatory elements related to Th17 differentiation in skin-homing T cells"
  • Sunny Wong, Ph.D., Dermatology, University of Michigan Medical School: "Targeting CD200 in a Mouse Model of Basal Cell Carcinoma"

Year 3

Pilot Awards

  • Claudia Loebel, M.D., Ph.D. & Brendon Baker, Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan:“Lineage-specific ECM labeling in skin fibrosis models”
  • Lisa Abernathy-Close, Ph.D., Internal Medicine (Rheumatology), University of Michigan Medical School: “Molecular and Functional Characterization of Type I IFN-educated Fibroblasts Enriched in Lupus Skin”
  • Masanori Matsumoto, Ph.D., Pathology, University of Michigan Medical School: “Understanding the role of neutrophil type I interferon signaling in S. aureus-induced skin inflammation”
  • Pei-Suen (Eliza) Tsou, Ph.D., Internal Medicine (Rheumatology), University of Michigan Medical School: "CaMKII in scleroderma fibrosis”
  • Olesya Plazyo, Ph.D., Dermatology, University of Michigan Medical School: “Characterizing the role of IL-7 signaling in SLE”
  • Tom Kerppola, Ph.D., Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan Medical School: “The roles of Keap1 moderation of cytokine transcription in the modulation of inflammatory responses in mouse dermal fibroblasts and skin”