Immune Tolerance Network (UM1 Clinical Trial Required)

Sponsor: NIH
Internal Deadline: 11/13/2026
Institutional Submission Limit: 1
Sponsor Deadline: 01/29/2027
Program Website

This notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) will support a cross-disciplinary consortium responsible for conducting research in three areas of immune-mediated conditions. Input from clinicians and immunologists, both within and outside the Network, will be important toward the design, development, and conduct of clinical trials and integrated mechanistic studies. The three clinical areas, along with examples of high-priority research topics, include:

Allergic Diseases and Asthma
Allergic diseases and asthma are the most common chronic conditions of children in the United States and are among the leading chronic conditions of adults. Immune tolerance research in this field seeks to prevent or reverse pathogenic immune responses to the allergens that relate to these conditions. Within this clinical area, priority areas of research the ITN will support include: 

• Interventions to prevent disease development or progression or induce durable remission.


• Novel allergen immunotherapy approaches to improve safety, effectiveness, and patient adherence.


• Clinical studies to understand the mechanisms that drive the natural development or loss of tolerance.

Autoimmune Diseases
Approximately 50 million Americans are living with autoimmune diseases, making them among the most common chronic conditions in the United States. New approaches are critically needed to prevent disease and/or restore normal immune function. Within this clinical area, priority areas of research the ITN will support include: 

• Novel antigen-specific/novel therapies that prevent disease progression or modulate autoreactive immune responses.


• Novel strategies, such as co-stimulatory blockade, cytokine modulation, or T regulatory cell induction or administration, to restore immune homeostasis.


• Strategies that involve immune cell depletion or replacement to reset or "re-educate" the immune system to restore immune tolerance.

Transplantation
Organ transplantation saves tens of thousands of lives annually, yet long-term success is challenging, with 10-year graft survival rates ranging from <30% for lung to 60-70% for kidney transplant recipients. Although >49,000 organ transplants were performed in the United States in 2025, there were >81,000 waitlist additions, with >100,000 candidates remaining on waitlists at the end of 2025. Immune tolerance research in transplantation aims to prevent graft rejection and reduce long-term health impacts of immunosuppressive drugs and reduce the need for repeat organ transplantation. Within this clinical area, priority areas of research the ITN aims to support include:

• Innovative approaches to promote donor specific tolerance and/or long-term graft survival, including cell-based therapies and novel biologic agents.


• Innovative approaches to reduce the long-term impact of current transplant therapies, e.g., nephrotoxicity, malignancy, and allosensitization.


• Biomarkers that can risk-stratify patients and predict allograft tolerance.

Only one application per institution (normally identified by having a unique UEI or NIH IPF number) is allowed.

Submission Process

Limited submissions MUST be coordinated with the Office of the Vice President for Research.

If interested in applying for this opportunity, please combine the following items into a single PDF and email to resdev@mailbox.sc.edu by 5pm on the INTERNAL DEADLINE above:

• Cover page with grant program name & number (if applicable) to which you are applying, your project title, PI (name, department/unit, & email), and list of co-PIs/key collaborators (name & department/unit)
• a two-page project abstract addressing key components/criteria for this specific grant program
• a 2-3 page CV/biosketch for the PI (SCiENcv preferred)