Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Awarded $2.7 Million from NIH to Investigate Novel Therapy for Eczema
“Narrow Pathway’-Targeted Immune Therapy May Spare Patients from Side Effects
The National Institutes of Health has awarded a research team at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai $2.7 million to study systemic treatments for patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis (AD), also known as eczema. Currently, no treatments are available that achieve long-term remission without difficult side effects for this debilitating skin disorder, characterized by inflammation, severe itching, and a rash that can adversely affect many aspects of everyday life.
The team will investigate the efficacy of a new intravenous medication, ILV-094, which blocks IL-22, an important protein that has been shown in animal models to trigger epidermal growth and differentiation abnormalities and chronic inflammation, which are major features of AD. The researchers see the study as potentially groundbreaking in using “narrow pathway”-targeted immune interventions for not just AD, but other “allergic” inflammatory diseases of the skin or other organs, such as asthma.
At the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Emma Guttman-Yassky, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Dermatology, and Director of the Center for Excellence in Eczema and the Laboratory for Inflammatory Skin Diseases leads the study, with Mark Lebwohl, MD, Professor and Chair of Dermatology and James G. Krueger, MD, PhD, D. Martin Carter Professor and head of the Laboratory for Investigative Dermatology at The Rockefeller University as co-PIs. Dr. Guttman has a joint appointment at Rockefeller and will oversee the clinical and mechanistic studies at both institutions.
Dr. Guttman was the first investigator to show in humans that a separate population of T cells secrete interleukin 22 (IL-22) and she also discovered the importance of the Th22 pathway and IL-22 in AD.
“Dr. Guttman has been at the forefront of many of the most important strides in understanding the pathophysiology of atopic dermatitis,” said Dr. Lebwohl. “This trial is an important step in developing safer treatments for patients with moderate to severe AD.”
“I hope that this research results in a final proof of concept and a novel treatment for AD without side effects,” said Dr. Guttman. The clinical trial is expected to last five years. The majority of the clinical trial, will be conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
The Department of Dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai provides outstanding care using the latest advances in dermatology care. Adult and pediatric patients are seen in the Dermatology Clinic, the Inpatient Consult Service, and the Faculty Practice. The Department has several divisions, including General Dermatology, Clinical Trials Department, Dermatopathology Division, Dermatologic Surgery, Dermatology Research Laboratories, and Inpatient Consultative Service. The Department has been involved in many leading clinical trials that have paved the way to the latest standards of care in dermatology diseases.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the nation’s leading integrated academic health systems and one of the largest in the New York metropolitan area. Its comprehensive system includes seven hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, over 600 research and clinical laboratories, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and the Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing. Together, the Health System comprises approximately 48,000 employees, more than 9,000 physicians, and 8,600 nurses.
As a leading learning health system, Mount Sinai combines clinical expertise with scientific discovery to improve patient care while training the next generation of health care and biomedical leaders. The Health System provides care across every stage of life, from prenatal care through geriatrics, while advancing personalized medicine through artificial intelligence, data science, and biomedical research.
Mount Sinai is consistently recognized among the nation’s leading academic health systems for patient care, research, and education. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 1 in New York by Newsweek and No. 5 on the magazine’s World’s Best Hospitals list. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai ranks No. 11 among U.S. medical schools and No. 1 among freestanding medical schools for National Institutes of Health funding, reflecting the strength of its scientific enterprise and leadership in biomedical research.
New Research Sheds Light on Why Eczema So Often Begins in Childhood
Feb 25, 2026 View All Press Releases
Mount Sinai Dermatologists Use Tape Strips to Map Immune Changes in Common Skin Disease
Jun 10, 2025 View All Press Releases
