Yike Jiang Selected as CAtCH K12 Scholar

Yike Jiang selected as CAtCH K12 Scholar 

July 2025 

The Duke Department of Pediatrics holds a Child Health Research Career Development Award (CHRCDA) from the National Institutes of Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, entitled Duke Center for Advancement of Child Health (CAtCH).  The Program has selected Yike Jiang, MD PhD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Rheumatology, as its next CAtCH Scholar.  Dr. Jiang received an MD and PhD from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and completed residency in pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine.  During Fellowship in Pediatric Rheumatology here at Duke, Dr. Jiang’s research was supported by an NIH T32 program and internal awards.   

The long-term goal of Dr. Jiang’s research is to advance scientific knowledge and clinical care of pediatric autoimmune brain diseases.  For the K12 period of support, Dr. Jiang aims to recover the genetic sequences of anti-MOG immunoglobulin in children with Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein Antibody-associated Disease (MOGAD), a demyelinating syndrome with a predisposition for children that causes neurologic damage and vision loss with no FDA-approved therapies.  Although anti-MOG antibodies are central to disease diagnosis, the mechanisms through which they propagate neurologic damage remain unclear; isolating anti-MOG immunoglobulin will be the first step towards filling this knowledge gap and improving treatment and outcomes for patients with the disease.