Active Grants:

• NIH/NICHD; R01 HD090887
  Harijith A, PI; Role: Co-Investigator
  06/01/2018 – 05/31/23 NCE
  “Role of novel SphK1 inhibitor, PF543 in therapy of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia and airway remodeling”
• NIH/NHLBI; R01 HL153170
  Park GY, PI; Role: Co-Investigator
  05/10/2021 – 02/28/2026
  “Mechanism of CX3CR1+ macrophage-mediated resolution of eosinophilic allergic lung inflammation.”

Completed Projects (Past 3 years):

• Chicago Biomedical Consortium Accelerator Network Grant – Phase 1 and 2
  Ackerman and Gaponenko (Multi-PIs)
  12/01/19 – 12/31/22
  Pre-Clinical Development of a Biased Antagonist of CCR3 for Allergic Diseases.
• Discovery Partners Institute (DPI) – UIC
  Ackerman, Gaponenko, Shikano (Multi-PIs)
  09/01/19 – 12/30/22
  Development of Novel Biased Antagonists of GPCRs to Address Unmet Needs and Health Disparities in Illinois.
• FDA; 1R01FD004086
  Ackerman (Multi-PI)
  08/15/13 – 05/31/21
• Phase 2 Study of Esophageal String Test in Diagnosing Eosinophilic Esophagitis; Funded through RFA-FD-11-001 – Clinical Studies of Safety and Effectiveness of Orphan Products Research Grant (R01).

Notable Honors

• 1983 Edward C. Kendall Alumni Award for Meritorious Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. "Investigations of Eosinophil-Associated Proteins in Health and Disease"
• 2008 American Gastroenterology Association - 2008 Translational Research Award (shared with Dr. Glenn T. Furuta).
• 2010-2011 David Parkin Visiting Professorship, University of Bath, United Kingdom
• 2011 The International Eosinophil Society (IES) - 1st Service Award recipient of the IES, Biennial Meeting, Chicago, IL
• 2019 Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Diseases (EGID) Service Award at the 5th CURED EGID Research Conference and Patient Education Program, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Cincinnati, OH.
• 2021 Departmental Faculty of the Year Award. University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Medicine, Chicago, IL

• Grozdanovic M, Laffey KG, Abdelkarim H, Hitchinson B, Harijith A, Moon H-G, Park GY, Rousslang LK, Masterson JC, Furuta GT, Tarasova NI, Gaponenko V and Ackerman SJ. Novel peptide nanoparticle biased antagonist of CCR3 blocks eosinophil recruitment and airway hyperresponsiveness. J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 2019; 143(2): 669-680. e12. Epub 2018. PMID: 29778505.
• Ackerman SJ, Kagalwalla AF, Hirano I, Gonsalves N, Menard Katcher P, Gupta S, Wechsler JB, Grozdanovic M, Pan Z, Masterson JC, Du J, Fantus RJ, Alumkal P, Lee JJ, Ochkur S, Ahmed F, Capocelli K, Melin-Aldana H, Biette K, Dubner A, Amsden K, Keeley K, Sulkowski M, Zalewski A, Atkins D, Furuta GT. The 1-Hour Esophageal String Test: A Non-Endoscopic Minimally Invasive Test that Accurately Detects Disease Activity in Eosinophilic Esophagitis. Amer. J. Gastroenterol. 2019;114:1614-1625. PMID: 31567192.
• Grozdanovic MM, Doyle CB, Liu L, Maybruck BT, Kwatia MA, Thiyagarajan N, Acharya KR and Ackerman SJ. Charcot-Leyden Crystal protein/Galectin-10 interacts with cationic ribonucleases and is required for eosinophil granulogenesis. J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 2020; 146:377-89.
• Wechsler JB, Ackerman SJ, Chehade M, Amsden K, Wang M, Du J, Kleinjan ML, Alumkal P, Gray E, Kim K-Y, Wershil BK, Kagalwalla AF. Noninvasive Biomarkers Identify Eosinophilic Esophagitis: A Prospective Longitudinal Study in Children. 2021; 76(12):3755-3765. PMID: 33905577.
• Laffey KG, Du J, Schrum AG, Ackerman SJ. Transcriptional Regulation of the Human IL5RA Gene through Alternative Promoter Usage during Eosinophil Development. Int J Mol Sci. 2021. Sep 23;22(19):10245. doi: 10.3390/ijms221910245. PMID: 34638583 PMCID: PMC8549700.
• Stankiewicz MJ, Du J, Martinico D and Ackerman SJ. CCAAT/Enhancer-binding Protein e²⁷ Antagonism of GATA-1 Transcriptional Activity is Mediated by a Unique Repression Domain, is Independent of Sumoylation, and Does Not Require DNA-Binding.  Int J Mol Sci. 2021. Nov 24;22(23):12689. doi: 10.3390/ijms222312689. PMID: 34884493 PMCID: PMC8657826
• Wechsler ME, Munitz A, Ackerman SJ, Drake MG, Jackson DJ, Wardlaw AJ, Dougan SK, Berdnikovs S, Schleich F,¹ Matucci A, Chanez P, Prazma CM, Howarth P, Weller, Merkel PA. Eosinophils in Health and Disease: A State of the Art Review. Mayo Clin Proc. 2021; 96(10):2694-2707. doi: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2021.04.025. Epub 2021 Sep 15. PMID: 34538424.
• Muir A*, Ackerman SJ*, Pan Z, Benitez A, Burger C, Spergel JM, Furuta GT, Rothman J, Wilkins BJ, Arnold M, Dolinsky L, Grozdanovic M and Menard-Katcher C. (*co-first authors). Remodeling in Eosinophilic Esophagitis: Relationships to luminal biomarkers of inflammation and periostin. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 2022, Sep;150(3):649-656.e5. Epub 2022 Apr 8. PMID: 35405206
• Moon HG, Kim SJ, Kim KH, Kim YM, Rehman J, Lee H, Wu YC, Lee SS, Christman JW, Ackerman SJ, Kim M, You S, Park GY. CX₃CR₁⁺ Macrophage Facilitates the Resolution of Allergic Lung Inflammation via Interacting CCL26. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2023 Jun 1;207(11):1451-1463. doi: 10.1164/rccm.202209-1670OC. PMID: 36790376.
• Moon HG, Eccles JD, Kim SJ, Kim KH, Kim YM, Rehman J, Lee H, Kanabar P, Christman JW, Ackerman SJ, Ascoli C, Kang H, Choi HS, Kim M, You S, Park GY. Complement C1q essential for aeroallergen sensitization via CSF1R⁺ conventional dendritic cells type 2. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2023 Aug 8:S0091-6749(23)00983-1. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2023.07.016. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37562753.

• NIH

• 2006 - present: Medical Advisory Panel – American Partnership for Eosinophilic Diseases (APFED).
• 2003 - 2009:  Treasurer, International Eosinophil Society
• 2007 - 2009: President, International Eosinophil Society
• 2001 - 2012: Member, Medical Advisory Board, Leukemia Research Foundation

S.U.N.Y. at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY B.Sc. 1973 Biological Sciences

McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Ph.D. 1977 Parasitology/Immunology

Institute for Cancer Research, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA Postdoctoral 1977-1979. Cancer Immunotherapy

Mayo Clinic and Foundation, Rochester, MN Postdoctoral 1979-1982 Allergic Diseases

• International Eosinophil Society
• American Association for the Advancement of Science

• 2023       12^th Biennial Symposium of the International Eosinophil Society, Hamilton, ON, Canada –Plenary Session: “'Haeckel'ing the Evolution of Eosinophils and Function”
• 2022       International Eosinophil Society (IES) – Webinar
•  “Cross-species and cross-evolutionary considerations in eosinophil biology.
• 2021       GlaxoSmithKline-GSK, American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) Annual Meeting. “Expert Perspectives on Upper and Lower Airway Diseases - From Pathophysiology to Patient Care: Managing the Health Impacts of Increased Eosinophils”
• 2020       GlaxoSmithKline-GSK American Thoracic Society, EOS Summit. Virtual Presentation.  “A double-edged sword: Eosinophils in health and disease”
• 2020       GlaxoSmithKline-GSK, EOS Summit. Virtual Presentation. “Eosinophils in Health and Disease”
• 2019       GlaxoSmithKline-GSK Eosinophils Summit, Atlanta, GA.  Plenary Presentation – The Science of Eosinophils: Ready for Primetime, “On the Origins, Evolution and Functions of Eosinophils”
• 2019       5^th CURED Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Diseases (EGID) Research Symposium and Patient Education Program, Cincinnati Childrenʼs Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH:
•  “Pathoetiology of Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE) – Effector Functions of Eosinophils”
• 2019       11^th Biennial Symposium of the International Eosinophil Society. Portland, OR – Plenary Session: “On the Origins of Eosinophils by Means of Natural Selection: Preservation of a favored Leukocyte in the Struggle for Life”

• Development of novel chemokine GPCR antagonists. Focus on CCR3 peptide and small molecule biased antagonists for inhibition of eosinophil recruitment into tissues in eosinophil-associated diseases including asthma and eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE).
• Functions of eosinophils in disease, including the pro-inflammatory effector functions in asthma, allergic and other diseases associated with tissue or blood eosinophilia, eosinophil-fibroblast interactions in tissue remodeling and fibrogenesis.
• Diagnosis and mechanisms of tissue remodeling and fibrosis in eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases, particularly eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE); development and clinical validation of a minimally invasive test, the Esophageal String Test (EST), for monitoring esophageal inflammation in EoE during treatment.
• Molecular and cellular biology of eosinophil development: regulation of myeloid-specific gene expression, especially eosinophil genes, during hematopoietic stem cell commitment, differentiation, and functional activation of the eosinophil granulocyte lineage.

• Ackerman SJ, Rosenberg HF, Tenen DG. “Recombinant gene encoding human Charcot-Leyden crystal protein.” United States Patent # US 5,242,807. Issued September 7, 1993.  Beth Israel Hospital Association (Boston, MA). Filed November 1, 1989.
• Furuta GT and Ackerman SJ. “Minimally Invasive Measurement of Esophageal Inflammation”. United States Patent # US 8,637,239 B2 issued on January 28, 2014. University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver and the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Filed May 5, 2010.
• Furuta GT and Ackerman SJ. “Minimally Invasive Measurement of Esophageal Inflammation”. United States Patent # US 9,372,186 B2. Issued June 21, 2016. University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver and Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Filed Dec. 20, 2013.
• Furuta GT and Ackerman SJ. “Minimally Invasive Measurement of Esophageal Inflammation”. United States Patent # US 9,980,634 B2. Issued May 29, 2018. University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver and Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Filed May 18, 2016.
• Furuta GT and Ackerman SJ. “Minimally Invasive Measurement of Esophageal Inflammation”. United States Patent #US 10,674,901. Issued June 9, 2020.  University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver and Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Filed April 27, 2018.
• Ackerman SJ, Laffey FG, Hitchinson B, Garnier B., Tarasova N, Abdelkarim H, and Gaponenko V. “Peptide Inhibition of CCR3-mediated Diseases and Conditions”. Patent # US 10,363,286 B2. Issued July 30, 2019. PCT/US16/17714. Filed 2/12/2016. US: US10363286B2; Europe: EP16749945.8A; Canada: CA3012820A; WO: PCT/US2016/017714.
• Ackerman SJ, Laffey FG, Hitchinson B, Garnier B., Tarasova N, Abdelkarim H, and Gaponenko V. “Peptide Inhibition of CCR3-mediated Diseases and Conditions”. Patent # US 11,167,012. Issued November 9, 2021. Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.  Filed July 29, 2019.