The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation awards $10.5 million to new Allen Distinguished Investigators Research funding supports four projects focused on extracellular vesicles and three on sex hormones

Uncovering biological properties of extracellular vesicles, which play a vital role in how cells communicate, and understanding how sex hormones drive behavior and development are two areas that the new cohorts of Allen Distinguished Investigators will research, thanks to over $10 million in funding from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. The 18 researchers will develop technologies, design approaches, and uncover insights into fundamental areas of human biology.

The seven awarded projects were selected from open calls for proposals in two fields: extracellular vesicles and sex hormones. When considering funding areas, The Frontiers Group looks for emerging fields where an investment could be catalytic to advance scientific progress—not just for awardees, but for all in that particular field. “Our two newest cohorts of Allen Distinguished Investigators are using innovative technologies and unprecedented ambition to pioneer new frontiers in the fields of sex hormones and extracellular vesicles. These discoveries have the potential to not only change and challenge our current understanding of basic biological principles but also are poised to reveal significant implications in human health.” said Kathy Richmond, Ph.D., M.B.A., Executive Vice President and Director of the Frontiers Group and the Office of Science and Innovation at the Allen Institute.

Changing immunity of transgender individuals

One of the awardees is Musa M. Mhlanga from Radboudumc / Radboud university. He was granted, together with Boris Novakovic, Ada Cheung and Rachel Davey the research project ‘Understanding the effects of Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy (GAHT) on immune function using a systems immunology approach’.

 Musa Mhlanga

Project abstract: There are well known differences between how male and female immune systems function. For example, females show lower COVID-19 mortality and lower rates of cardiovascular disease than males, but have higher rates of auto-immune disease. It is also known that sex hormones can influence immune function, but how they do this in the context of infection and inflammatory disease is unclear. In this project, researchers will investigate how sex hormones (estradiol and testosterone) change the immunity of transgender individuals undergoing gender affirming hormone therapy. This longitudinal approach will allow researchers to study the action of sex hormones beyond the population level, and to dive deeper into how circulating sex hormones affect individual immune responses. Insights from this study could be used to improve health outcomes for transgender individuals and provide greater understanding into the action of sex hormones on immunity more generally.

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