2024–2025 Research Award Highlights for Faculty at CCTI

March 28, 2025

We’re proud to recognize the outstanding achievements of our faculty, collaborators, and research scientists at the Columbia Center for Translational Immunology (CCTI) who have recently received prestigious grants and fellowships for the 2024–2025 funding cycle. These awards—from the NIH, industry partners, and leading foundations—support a diverse range of innovative projects spanning transplant tolerance, type 1 diabetes, cancer immunotherapy, and immune regulation. Congratulations to all the investigators for their continued leadership and contributions to advancing translational immunology.

Award Recipients

Remi Creusot, PhD

Helmsley Charitable Trust Foundation Award (8/24–7/26)
Project: Development of SAgA-T1D Immunotherapy
Preclinical development of a first-in-class, antigen-specific therapy aimed at delaying or preventing type 1 diabetes.

View Dr. Remi Creusot's Profile

Jianing Fu, PhD

CU DLDRC Pilot & Feasibility Award (12/24–11/25)
Project: γδ and αβ T Cell Interactions in Transplantation
Explores strategies to target γδ T cells to improve transplant outcomes and inform research in IBD and liver disease.

CU Medicine Bridge Fund Award (1/25–9/25)
Project: Mechanisms of T Cell Tolerance in Intestinal Transplantation
Uses multiomic approaches to study peripheral and allograft immune tolerance using human small bowel transplant specimens.

View Dr. Jianing Fu's Profile

Camillo Benchi Genzano (Mentor: Remi Creusot)

Breakthrough T1D Foundation Fellowship (3/25–2/28)
Project: Persistent Antigen Presentation to Prevent Autoimmune Diabetes
Tests engineered cells that continuously present antigens to induce tolerance in T1D by targeting harmful T cells in a mouse model.

View Dr. Remi Creusot's Profile

Arnold S Han, MD, PhD and Kelley Yan, MD, PhD

NIH/NIDDK R01 (3/25–01/30)
Project: T Helper Cells and Stem Cells in Colon Homeostasis and Tumor Initiation
Investigates the role of T helper cells and colon stem cells in colorectal neoplasia development.

Ran Reshef, MD, MSc

Industry Award from Kinomica (12/24–12/25)
Project: Phosphoproteomic Profiling in CAR T Cell Therapy
Uses phosphoproteomic analysis to identify biomarkers of CAR T cell response and improve personalized cancer immunotherapy.

View Dr. Ran Reshef's Profile

Megan Sykes, MD and Tomoaki Kato, MD

NIH/NIAID R01 (12/24–11/29)
Project: Preclinical Studies of Liver Allograft Tolerance
Studies immune tolerance in liver transplants using a nonhuman primate model to define tolerance mechanisms.

Megan Sykes & Remi Creusot

NIH/NIDDK UG3 (1/25–12/26)
Project: Immune Abnormalities in HIS Mouse Models of T1D
Examines thymic epithelial and hematopoietic stem cell-intrinsic abnormalities in T1D using optimized humanized mouse models.

Megan Sykes, MD

Collaborative Award with MGH (7/24–6/25)
Project: Tracking Donor-Reactive T Cells in the MGH-SMC-Siplizumab Study
Tracks immune tolerance mechanisms in kidney transplant recipients via high-throughput TCR sequencing.

View Dr. Megan Sykes' Profile

Giorgia Zanetti (Mentor: Megan Sykes)

American Diabetes Association Fellowship (1/25–12/28)
Project: Humanized Mouse Model for Early T1D Research
Develops a novel model to study interactions between the human autoimmune system and beta cells during early T1D progression.

View Dr. Megan Sykes' Profile

Emmanuel Zorn, PhD

NIH/NIAID R01 (12/24–11/29)
Project: Antibody Responses to Chemical Adducts in Kidney Allograft Rejection
Investigates anti-adduct antibody development and effector function in kidney transplant rejection.

View Dr. Emmanuel Zorn's Profile