Dr. Aakanksha Jain, an Indian American assistant professor of immunology at the University of Washington has been named a 2026 Rita Allen Foundation Scholar for her research focusing on the interactions between immune and nerve cells.
She is one of seven early-career leaders in the biomedical sciences whose research holds exceptional promise for revealing new pathways to advance human health. The selected Scholars will receive grants of up to $110,000 annually for up to five years to conduct innovative research in neuroscience, cancer, immunology, and pain.
Jain received the grant for deciphering the role of auto-reactive T cells in neuropathic pain, which has long been viewed as a disorder of the nervous system alone.
However, growing evidence shows that the immune system plays a critical role in driving pain, yet efforts to target it remain limited by an incomplete understanding of neuroimmune interactions.
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Jain lab research focuses on defining the cellular and molecular pathways through which immune cells regulate pain through their interactions with sensory neurons. In particular, it studies T cells, which are best known for their roles in fighting infection and cancer and driving autoimmunity.
Jain’s lab has found that T cells infiltrate damaged nerves and exhibit features strikingly similar to those seen in autoimmune diseases. These findings raise the possibility that nerve injury triggers an autoimmune-like response that contributes to chronic pain, she says.
“We aim to apply principles from autoimmune disease research to understand mechanisms of neuropathic pain with the long-term goal of immune-based therapies for chronic pain,” says Jain.
“Support from the Rita Allen Foundation enables me to pursue ambitious, high-risk research directions as I set up my independent program,” she said. “It will provide the flexibility to explore new ideas at the intersection of neurobiology and immunology that are not easily supported through traditional funding.’
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“Receiving this support at a formative stage is highly motivating, and I am excited to be part of this exceptional research community and to connect with collaborators and mentors,” said Jain who has “always loved problem solving and figuring out how things work.”
Jain graduated with a Bachelor of Technology from National Institute of Technology, Warangal, India in 2012. She received her PhD in 2019 from UT Southwestern Medical Center under the supervision of Dr. Chandrashekhar Pasare.
She completed her postdoctoral training in Dr. Clifford Woolf’s lab at Boston Children’s Hospital studying on neuroimmune interactions in pain. Jain joined the University of Washington, Department of Immunology as an assistant professor in 2025.