UConn Receives $3.5 Million NIH Grant to Restore Immune Function in Older Adults Using Stem Cells

Researchers at the University of Connecticut received a $3.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health on October 9, 2026, to develop therapies that restore immune function in older adults by rebuilding the thymus using stem cells.

The project is led by Laijun Lai, a researcher at UConn. His team will use human induced pluripotent stem cells, known as hiPSCs, to generate healthy thymic epithelial cells. These cells form the structural environment of the thymus, where T-cells are produced and trained to fight infections and cancer.

The thymus is most active during childhood and adolescence. It shrinks progressively with age, a process called thymic atrophy, which leads to a steady decline in T-cell production. Older adults with weakened thymic function are more susceptible to infections, respond less effectively to vaccines, and face higher cancer risk.

By transplanting lab-grown thymic epithelial cells, Lai's team aims to rejuvenate the thymic environment and restore the body's ability to generate new T-cells. The approach builds on earlier NIH-funded work by the same team focused on treating T-cell immunodeficiency in patients with CHARGE syndrome, a rare genetic disorder.

Research published in Nature in April 2026 underscored the importance of the adult thymus, finding that its removal in adults is linked to increased mortality from cancer and autoimmune diseases. The UConn grant reflects growing scientific interest in the thymus as a target for anti-aging and immune restoration therapies.

The NIH's National Institute on Aging and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases are co-funding the project. Lai's team expects to begin preclinical testing within the first year of the grant period.

If successful, the therapy could eventually benefit millions of older adults whose immune systems have weakened with age, reducing hospitalizations and improving quality of life.