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Principal Investigator: Christy Michelle McKinney
Organization: UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
Fiscal Year: 2024
Award: $194,400
Funding agency: National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
The proposed NIH KL2 INCLUDE Career Development Award supports a promising dual-degree (DDS, PhD)
early career faculty to train in the clinical and translational research to improve and extend the oral healthspan
in people with Down syndrome (DS). With a higher prevalence of oral inflammatory diseases, like periodontitis
and gingivitis, at an earlier age (<30 years old in people with DS vs. >65 years old in people without DS), the
underlying impact of aging biology remains largely unexplored. Specifically, this proposal will investigate the
role of low-grade, chronic inflammation, termed “inflammaging” in the periodontal barrier of children with DS.
Further, this proposal will set up future work to address INCLUDE Project priorities, Component 1, by
identifying a DS mouse model best suited to mimic accelerated human oral inflammation in addition to
investigating mechanisms of inflammaging in the gingival barrier, and Component 2, by assessing the oral
health landscape in people with DS using epidemiological inquiry. The KL2 scholar will leverage collaborations
at clinical and dental sites that see over 600 children and adults with DS to complete the proposed work and
engage with the DS community in Washington State. The KL2 scholar will be supported by the Institute of
Translational Health Sciences (ITHS), the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program hub at the
University of Washington (UW), UW School of Dentistry, and mentored by established researchers to develop
as an investigator conducting rigorous clinical and translational research. The mentoring team for the KL2
scholar is comprised of NIH-funded researchers (OD, NIAID, NHLBI, NCATS, NIDCR) who are experts in
single-cell analysis, mucosal immunology, DS immunology and deep phenotyping, and epidemiology. Mentors
will advance the scholar's career development by helping him to build trans-disciplinary collaborative
relationships and train in novel research activities. Importantly, this award will provide the applicant with the
protected time, resources, salary support, and training and development to take his career to the next level in
establishing an independent clinical and translational research career in DS-related research, specifically to
extend the oral healthspan in children and adults with DS.
Terms: <0-11 years old><21+ years old><65 and older><65 or older><65 years of age and older><65 years of age or more><65 years of age or older><65+ years><65+ years old><> 65 years><Acceleration><Address><Adult><Adult Human><Age><Aged 65 and Over><Award><Biology><Biology of Aging><Body Tissues><Career Development Awards><Career Development Awards and Programs><Career Development Programs K-Series><Child><Child Youth><Children (0-21)><Chronic><Chronic Periodontitis><Clinical><Clinical Research><Clinical Study><Clinical and Translational Science Awards><Collaborations><Communities><Dental><Dentists><Development><Disease><Disorder><Down's Syndrome><Epidemiology><Funding><Future><Gingiva><Gingival><Gingivitis><High Prevalence><Human><Hyperactivity><Immunology><Individual><Inflammaging><Inflammation><Inflammatory><Institution><Investigators><K-Awards><K-Series Research Career Programs><Knowledge><Langdon Down syndrome><Mentors><Modern Man><Mongolism><Mucosa><Mucosal Tissue><Mucous Membrane><NCATS><NHLBI><NIAID><NIDCR><NIDR><NIH><National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences><National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute><National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease><National Institute of Dental Research><National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research><National Institutes of Health><Oral><Oral health><Periodontitis><Persons><Phenotype><Research><Research Activity><Research Career Program><Research Personnel><Research Resources><Researchers><Resources><Role><Salaries><School Dentistries><School Dentistry><Scientific Inquiry><Scientist><Site><Time><Tissues><Training><Translational Research><Translational Science><Trisomy 21><United States National Institutes of Health><Universities><Update><Wages><Washington><Work><above age 65><adulthood><after age 65><age 65 and greater><age 65 and older><age 65 or older><age > 65><age of 65 years onward><age-related inflammation><aged 65 and greater><aged 65+><aged ≥65><ages><career><career development><chromosome 21 trisomy syndrome><congenital acromicria syndrome><dental health><developmental><early-career faculty><epidemiologic><epidemiological><health-span><healthspan><healthy life span><human old age (65+)><improved><inflamm-ageing><inflamm-aging><innovate><innovation><innovative><kids><morbus Down><mouse model><murine model><novel><old age><over 65 years><programs><pseudohypertrophic progressive muscular dystrophy><single cell analysis><social role><translation research><translational health research><translational health science><translational investigation><trisomy 21 syndrome><youngster><≥65 years>