Ajitha Thanabalasuriar receives PATH award to advance lung disease research
Award from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund will open new avenues to preventing and treating pneumonia.听
Ajitha Thanabalasuriar, Canada Research Chair in Infection, Immunity, and Targeted Drug Therapies and听Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, is a recipient of the 2026 Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease (PATH) award from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.听听听
The support assistant professor-level scientists whose research advances understanding of infectious disease mechanisms and informs new approaches to prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Valued at $505,000, the awards are designed to give investigators the freedom to pursue novel ideas and establish independent research programs at the frontiers of biomedical science.听
Thanabalasuriar was funded for her project, 鈥淢acrophage Extracellular Traps: An Explosive Defense Strategy Against Streptococcus pneumoniae鈥�. Her research will explore how the lungs defend against Streptococcus pneumoniae, a leading cause of pneumonia, which rank as the fifth leading cause of death worldwide.听听
The effectiveness of the vaccine that protects against S. pneumoniae varies depending on age, overall health, and the bacterial strains targeted. The persistence of infection highlights the need for new approaches that complement vaccination and help the body鈥檚 own immune system defend against S. pneumoniae.听
Her study focuses on alveolar macrophages, specialized immune cells in the lungs that help eliminate harmful microbes before they can enter the bloodstream. Recent findings from the Thanabalasuriar lab show that these cells can release net-like structures, through a process called METosis, to trap and contain S. pneumoniae, challenging previous assumptions about how the lungs respond to infection.听听
By investigating the mechanisms behind this process, her research aims to identify new ways to strengthen the body鈥檚 natural immune response by enhancing METosis to help clear infections more effectively. This is especially important for vulnerable populations such as infants, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems.听
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