Wayne State University School of Medicine student Peter Dimitrion has received a Danby Grant from the Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation to support his project investigating a heritable factor in the dermatological immune disease, which causes red lumps and boils, primarily in the folds of skin.

Dimitrion is a M.D.-Ph.D. student now in his third year of the medical degree portion of the program. As the principal investigator of the grant, he is responsible for conducting the research, doing the experiments and managing the funds. 

Dimitrion noted his work would be impossible without the support of his research mentor, Qing-Sheng Mi, M.D., Ph.D., an adjunct faculty member in the Departments of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Immunology.

“He graciously is providing me the space and support to conduct this work, and his input will be critical to answering the questions we posed in the grant. We are also collaborating with Dr. Yueming Li at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York, who is an expert in gamma-secretase biology,” Dimitrion said.

The discovery of a novel mutation led Dimitrion to hypothesize that contextual signals from the tissue microenvironment modulate gamma-secretase function differently in patients with these mutations.

With the project, “Deciphering a Context-Dependent Role of g-Secretase Complex Mutations in HS Pathogenesis,” Dimitrion wants to determine mechanistically how gamma-secretase mutations contribute to the development of HS, which has been a long-standing question in the field.

“The challenges of living with HS are often underestimated, and many unmet needs remain, prompting important questions for research. I’m continually inspired by the resilience of patients, and I’m grateful to collaborate with clinicians and fellow researchers who share my commitment to improving quality of life and treatment outcomes for those affected by HS,” he said.

The $20,000 Danby Grant is one of three the nonprofit awarded young investigators this year to generate data in hopes of applying for larger funding opportunities. The grants were presented at the American Association of Dermatology annual meeting held March 7-11 in Orlando.