Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research in the Microbiome and Lung Disease

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Dr. Dickson is an Associate Professor in Medicine (Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine) and Microbiology & Immunology at the University of Michigan. He is a physician-scientist with expertise in the microbiome’s role in critical illness and lung disease, and has an established track record of high-impact patient-oriented research. He has demonstrated his potential to excel in mentorship via successful supervision of research trainees, as Associate Program Director for Research for the University of Michigan’s highly successful Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Program, and as Associate Program Director for his Division’s T32 training program (Multidisciplinary Training in Lung Disease). Dr. Dickson seeks this K24 Mid-Career Investigator Award to continue his successful research program while dedicating significant time to mentoring the next generation of aspiring scientists, including medical students, residents, clinical and post-doctorate fellows, and junior faculty. The goals of this proposal are to 1) support the candidate’s continued impact as a mentor, 2) secure protected time for coursework to acquire new mentorship and leadership skills, 3) and equip the candidate to recruit mentees interested in patient-oriented research. In his proposed research and development plan, Dr. Dickson will tailor a mentoring plan to each trainee consisting of one-on-one mentoring sessions, formal educational opportunities in research methods and the responsible conduct of research, and collaborations with colleagues with complementary expertise and educational commitments. Each candidate will have a tailored timeline towards career advancement, including the regular publication of original research manuscripts. Dr. Dickson will provide mentorship not only in methodologic expertise but also in the critical skills of scientific communication and leadership. Dr. Dickson’s scientific aims for this project will extend his existing research into a new area of immediate patient-oriented importance: the role of the microbiome in viral respiratory infections. The first aim will be to determine if respiratory and gut bacteria (characterized via pharyngeal swabs, rectal swabs, and by the diversity and burden of gut bacterial DNA detectable in blood specimens) explains patient heterogeneity in susceptibility to severe COVID-19 disease. The second aim will be to determine how acute influenza infection and vaccination (administered in a controlled experiment of healthy volunteers) alters upper respiratory tract microbiota, and how this explains variation in systemic immune response. These aims leverage 1) existing biospecimens already available to Dr. Dickson, 2) a unique controlled experimental human model of acute influenza infection, and 3) Dr. Dickson’s broad research portfolio characterizing the role of microbiota (both respiratory and gut) in the pathogenesis of critical illness. Dr. Dickson is at an ideal stage of his career to take advantage of a K24 award, and is deeply committed to an investigative career in patient-oriented research as well as developing the next generation of investigators.