Yale’s Colton Center for Autoimmunity Announces 2025 Awardees Advancing Innovation in Autoimmune Disease Research
The Colton Center for Autoimmunity at Yale University is proud to announce the recipients of its 2025 awards, recognizing outstanding, translationally focused research projects that aim to accelerate novel diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines and technological innovations in autoimmunity.
This year, nine proposals were selected for funding totaling nearly $1M in support. The winning projects span multiple departments, disciplines, and therapeutic areas, reflecting the Center’s commitment to fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and impactful solutions in autoimmune disease.
“The 2025 Colton Awardees exemplify the spirit of bold, cross-disciplinary research that drives innovation in the field of autoimmunity,” said Joseph Craft, MD, Paul B. Beeson Professor of Medicine (Rheumatology), Professor of Immunobiology, and the Scientific Director of the Colton Center for Autoimmunity at Yale. Makoto Yoshioka, PhD, the Operational Director or the Center added “From computational tools and novel biologics to precision diagnostics, these projects represent the next wave of breakthroughs that will ultimately improve outcomes for patients affected by autoimmune conditions.”
2025 Colton Center for Autoimmunity Awardees
Craig Crews, PhD
John C. Malone Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
Project: Oral inhibitors of IL4Ra
Mark Gerstein, PhD
Albert L. Williams Professor of Biomedical Informatics
Project: Artificial intelligence to target the dynamic states of immunopathogenic proteins
Co-Investigator: Alan Ianeselli, PhD
James Hansen, MD, PhD
Associate Professor, Therapeutic Radiology
Project: Deoxymab: First-in-class nuclear-penetrating antibody targeting NETosis
Co-Investigators: Esen Sefik, PhD; Richard Flavell, PhD
Smita Krishnaswamy, PhD
Associate Professor, Computer Science
Project: ImmunoStruct: a multi-modal autoimmunity epitope prediction tool
Co-Investigator: Akiko Iwasaki, PhD
Christopher Pittenger, MD, PhD
Elizabeth Mears and House Jameson Professor of Psychiatry
Project: Pathogenic antibodies in rapid-onset neuroinflammatory pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): Towards clarification of nosology and development of novel diagnostic tests
David Pitt, MD
Associate Professor, Neurology
Project: RNA content of GLAST+ exosomes as diagnostic and predictive biomarkers for multiple sclerosis progression
Co-Investigator: Jonathan Weerakkody, PhD
W. Mark Saltzman, PhD
Goizueta Foundation Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Project: Proof-of-concept evaluation of myeloid cell-targeted nanoparticles for drug delivery in lupus nephritis
Co-Investigator: Owen Richfield, PhD
Matthew Vesely, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Dermatology
Project: Modulation of skin immune trafficking and inflammation
Co-Investigators: Ian Odell, MD, PhD; Lieping Chen, MD, PhD
Dianqing (Dan) Wu, PhD
Gladys Phillips Crofoot Professor, Pharmacology
Project: Development and preclinical evaluation of a novel oral ferroptosis inhibitor for treating inflammatory bowel disease
The Colton Center for Autoimmunity at Yale is part of a broader network of the Colton Consortium supported by a generous gift from Judith and Stewart Colton, and seeks to translate academic discovery into transformative medical solutions for patients with autoimmune diseases.
For more information, visit https://ventures.yale.edu/colton-center-for-autoimmunity.