BLRD Research Career Scientist Award Application

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Dr. Olszewski is an immunologist with over 25 years of experience in studies of inflammatory/infectious diseases in the lungs, CNS and at the systemic level with over 20 years of research at the Ann Arbor VAHS. Overall career goal is to expand the understanding of host pathogen interactions, specifically the effect of microbe- and host-derived signals on the fate of the immune response. Understanding of these interactions will create a foundation for the development of safe and effective immunomodulatory therapies that will greatly enhance the effectiveness of antimicrobial therapeutics in persistent infections. Nominee’s lab has specialized in animal modeling and translational studies, applying these principles to a broader range of diseases as shown by more recent clinical data. His studies have mostly focused on host pathogen interactions between invasive fungus C. neoformans and the mammalian immune system. The studies of invasive fungal infections are of specific interest to the VA, because of the higher than average rate of immunocompromised patients among veterans and increased risk of exposure to various endemic and environmental fungi due to locations and conditions of military service that favor fungal exposures. Unfortunately, the invasive fungal infections have unacceptably high mortality rates, due to limited effectiveness of antifungal drugs, toxicity, and the high potential of fungal organisms to develop resistance to these drugs. Thus, it is crucial to understand the effects of immunomodulation on fungal disease from the perspective of the natural mechanisms of host defenses, mechanisms of immune evasion exhibited by fungi, and to explore pre-clinical approaches of immunomodulatory therapies. The long-standing support of VA BLR&D was one of the crucial factors that allowed our group to establish itself among leaders in cryptococcal and fungal immunology. Additional areas of work involve clinical studies looking into pathogenesis od ARDS in COVID19 patients and infections of GI track. The VA RCS Award will allow the nominee to continue his productive research career, successful mentoring of new scientists and to provide service to the research community at the VA and beyond.